On February 10, 2026, the EDPB and the EDPS adopted Joint Opinion No. 2/2026 on the proposed “Digital Omnibus” Regulation, through which the Commission aims to simplify and streamline the EU digital rules framework, including certain aspects of the GDPR. The Authorities support the goal of reducing complexity but reiterate a key point: simplification cannot come at the cost of weakening the concept of personal data or removing pseudonymized data that can still be traced back to natural persons from the scope of the GDPR. The Opinion welcomes measures that enhance harmonization and legal certainty—such as common templates for data breach notifications and DPIA—but raises concerns about changes that affect the core of fundamental rights. Simplification is not a compromise on protections, but a call to apply the GDPR in a more straightforward, informed, and demonstrable manner.

Robust compliance thus becomes a factor in reliability and decision-making speed in digital and AI projects, not merely a bureaucratic cost.