The digital omnibus: What does it mean for our digital rights?

It's easy to overlook what's happening in Brussels right now: massive legislative changes are underway without much attention. The EU is in the process of "simplifying rules", but according to critics, critical digital rights are being watered down. In November, the European Commission published the Digital Omnibus with amendments to legislation on AI, data, privacy, and cybersecurity. The omnibus has yet to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council - there is therefore still time to influence the negotiations.

Some parts of the Omnibus have been generally positively received, others have raised eyebrows. This applies, for example, to a change in the definition of personal data and what can be covered by the term "for scientific purposes". The question is whether these changes are necessary to strengthen European competitiveness or whether our personal data is (again) making its way back into the hands of Big-Tech. What exactly is going on and do we have reason to be worried?

We invite you to this panel debate with two exciting speakers Ralth Bendrath and Rikke Frank Jørgensen to explore the possibilities, challenges and pitfalls of the Digital Omnibus. You can expect deep dive discussions in the intersection between technology, regulation and human aspects of how legislative decisions on EU level affect our everyday life and work.

Simplification measures in Digital Omnibus promise to reduce legal fragmentation, cut administrative burdens and provide better legal certainty in the digital space as well as a promise of total estimated savings of EUR 1.3 billion annually for businesses.

So how will it work in practice? We will discuss such topics as:

• Will the data policy consolidation simplify the use of public sector data?
• Can Omnibus modernise our approach to personal data protection and privacy in the age of AI and address "consent fatigue" of cookie banners?
• Can Omnibus in practice streamline overlapping reporting requirements across NIS2, DORA, GDPR, and other cybersecurity frameworks
• How will the synergy between GDPR, Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act be achieved in practice?

Program:

• Presentation from Ralth Bendrath
• Presentation from Rikke Frank Jørgensen
• Panel round 1
• Brake with sandwiches
• Panel round 2

Speakers: 

Ralf Bendrath, Advisor on Civil Liberties, for the transnational parliamentary group "The European Greens" in the European Parliament, where he primarily works with data protection and digital rights. In his spare time, he is active in the Digitale Gesellschaft e.V. He hacked the Commodore C-64 in the 1980s, studied political science in the 1990s, researched cyber warfare and data protection in the 00s, and has worked in the European Parliament since 2009.

Rikke Frank Jørgensen, Acting Head of Research, Danish Institute for Human Rights. Her research focuses on the intersection between technology and human rights. Currently, she is exploring how AI and data-driven systems impact on welfare services and citizens’ rights, including the role technology companies play in this transformation. She is particularly interested in issues related to agency, power, rights, the commercialized public sphere, technology narratives, and regulation.

Moderator:

Julia Sommer, IDA DataCompliance