Europe is scaling back its landmark laws on privacy and artificial intelligence

After years of clamping down on the world’s largest technology companies and setting strict regulatory standards around the world, Europe has backed down. Under intense pressure from industry and the US government, Brussels lifted protection for its flagship General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — including simplifying the notorious cookie permissions popups — and relaxing or delaying historic AI rules in an effort to cut red tape and revive sluggish economic growth.

The proposed reform will not land quietly in Brussels, and if the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is developed and… Artificial Intelligence Law No matter what, a political and lobbying storm is on its way. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the cornerstone of Europe’s technology strategy and is as close to sacrosanct as policy. The leaked drafts have already sparked anger among civil rights groups and politicians, who have accused the commission of weakening basic safeguards and caving in to pressure from big tech companies.

The decision comes after months of intense pressure from Big Tech and Donald Trump — as well as high-profile insiders like the former Italian prime minister and the former head of the European Central Bank. Mario Draghi Urging the bloc to weaken burdensome technological regulation. With very few exceptions, Europe has no credible competitors in the global AI race, which is dominated by American and Chinese companies such as DeepSeek, Google, and OpenAI.

This article is under development…