EU Scrambles to Loosen Privacy Laws as AI Giants META, GOOGL, MSFT Demand Less Red Tape
Brussels bends to Big Tech pressure—privacy takes a backseat to 'innovation.'
Regulators wave white flag as AI gold rush overwhelms GDPR defenses.
Your data just became training fuel—did anyone ask you?
Wall Street shrugs: 'Compliance costs down, margins up—bullish for ad-tech.'
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Incoming GDPR Changes?
GDPR, which came into force in May 2018, aims to protect European citizens’ personal data and privacy by enforcing transparency and accountability standards that emphasize user control over data collection, processing, and storage.
According to the outlet, while the Commission has claimed that it is only implementing focused tweaks to such rules, the news publication’s review of a draft proposal from the European watchdog shows that the package will introduce several changes. One such change is an allowance that will enable artificial intelligence companies to handle sensitive personal data, such as religious orientation and political views, for the purpose of training and operating their AI models.
The end goal is to make Europe more economically competitive as the race to expand the frontier of innovation in AI continues to intensify globally. Such a move is expected to benefit artificial intelligence projects being undertaken by major U.S. tech companies such as Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Amazon (AMZN) — spending by these Big Tech companies on AI infrastructure is expected to surpass $2.8 trillion by 2029.
EU Reflects on AI Act
The update comes several days after the Commission confirmed that “a reflection” to delay aspects of its AI Act was still ongoing. This follows pressure from the U.S. government and almost 50 business executives who pressured the continental regulator to press pause on the Act.
Earlier this year, Meta secured EU approval to train its AI models using posts and comments shared publicly on its Facebook and Instagram social media platforms by adult users in the region. The MOVE suggests that the regulator could be more open to relaxing its strict data protection and privacy laws for the sake of competition.
However, the regulator remains tough in other areas of policy, including those relating to child safety on social media platforms and content moderation rules on such platforms.
What Is the Most Promising AI Stock?
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