EU States Move to Let AI Companies Override Privacy Rights
Under a leaked proposal from the Irish Presidency circulating among EU Member States, the use of personal data "in the context of AI" would automatically become lawful, with the commercial interests of companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta taking precedence over the fundamental right to data protection. The measure, part of the broader "Digital Omnibus" push, reportedly enjoys wide informal agreement among Member States and is backed by Germany and other EU powerhouses. Privacy activist Max Schrems condemns the plan as "nothing but a digital expropriation of Europeans."
The proposal, now under Council discussion as Article 88bis, would allow AI companies to use virtually all personal data they can access — including decades-old information from chats and social media, and data about individuals who were never customers. Critics note the European Commission advanced the original measure through a fast-track procedure without a fundamental rights assessment and without directly involving the European expert group on data protection, despite claiming to maintain a "high level of protection."
Ireland, which hosts the EU headquarters of most US and Chinese AI corporations, currently leads Council negotiations, raising questions about conflicts of interest. The debate intensifies as even AI industry leaders publicly warn about the risks of their own products, while EU lawmakers consider stripping away the last legal limits on how personal data fuels commercial AI systems.