EU moves to delay ‘high-risk’ AI rules, cut cookie banners
By AFP
November 19, 2025
Campaigners drove across Brussels on Wednesday with large billboards calling on EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to stand up to US President Donald Trump and Big Tech - Copyright AFP Joe Klamar
The EU executive proposed rolling back key AI and data privacy rules on Wednesday as part of a push to slash red tape and help Europe’s high-tech sector catch up with global rivals.
The landmark EU tech rules have faced powerful pushback from the US administration under President Donald Trump — but also from businesses and governments at home complaining they risk hampering growth.
Brussels denies bowing to outside pressure, but it has vowed to make businesses’ lives easier in the 27-nation bloc — and on Wednesday it unveiled proposals to loosen both its rules on artificial intelligence and data privacy.
Those include:
– giving companies more leeway to access datasets to train AI models like personal data when it is “for legitimate interests”
– giving companies extra time — up to 16 months — to apply ‘high-risk’ rules on AI
– in a plan many Europeans will welcome, Brussels wants to reduce the number of cookie banner pop-ups users see, which it says can be done without putting privacy at risk.
“We have talent, infrastructure, a large internal single market. But our companies, especially our start-ups and small businesses, are often held back by layers of rigid rules,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
After cheering the so-called “Brussels effect” whereby EU laws were seen as influencing jurisdictions around the world, European lawmakers and rights defenders increasingly fear the EU is withdrawing from its role as Big Tech’s watchdog.
Campaigners from different groups including People vs Big Tech drove across Brussels on Wednesday with large billboards calling on EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to stand up to Trump and the tech sector, and defend the bloc’s digital rules.
– Striking a ‘balance’ –
The commission says the plans will help European businesses catch up with American and Chinese rivals — and reduce dependence on foreign tech giants.
For many EU states, the concern is that the focus on regulation has come at the expense of innovation — although Brussels insists it remains committed to protecting European citizens’ rights.
But experts say the EU lags behind the bigger economies for several reasons including its fragmented market and limited access to the financing needed to scale up.
The EU raced to pass its sweeping AI law that entered into force last year, but dozens of Europe’s biggest companies — including Airbus, Lufthansa and Mercedes-Benz — called for a pause on the parts they said risked stifling innovation.
Brussels met them part of the way by agreeing to delay applying provisions on “high-risk” AI — such as models that could endanger safety, health or citizens’ fundamental rights.
With the proposed change on cookie banners, an EU official said the bloc wanted to address “fatigue” at the pop-ups seeking users’ consent for tracking on websites, and “reduce the number of times” the windows appear.
The commission wants users to be able to indicate their consent with one click, and save cookie preferences through settings on browsers and operating systems.
Brussels has insisted European users’ data privacy will be protected.
“It is essential that the European Union acts to deliver on simplification and competitiveness while also maintaining a high level of protection for the fundamental rights of individuals — and this is precisely the balance this package strikes,” EU justice commissioner Michael McGrath said.
By AFP
November 19, 2025
Campaigners drove across Brussels on Wednesday with large billboards calling on EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to stand up to US President Donald Trump and Big Tech - Copyright AFP Joe Klamar
The EU executive proposed rolling back key AI and data privacy rules on Wednesday as part of a push to slash red tape and help Europe’s high-tech sector catch up with global rivals.
The landmark EU tech rules have faced powerful pushback from the US administration under President Donald Trump — but also from businesses and governments at home complaining they risk hampering growth.
Brussels denies bowing to outside pressure, but it has vowed to make businesses’ lives easier in the 27-nation bloc — and on Wednesday it unveiled proposals to loosen both its rules on artificial intelligence and data privacy.
Those include:
– giving companies more leeway to access datasets to train AI models like personal data when it is “for legitimate interests”
– giving companies extra time — up to 16 months — to apply ‘high-risk’ rules on AI
– in a plan many Europeans will welcome, Brussels wants to reduce the number of cookie banner pop-ups users see, which it says can be done without putting privacy at risk.
“We have talent, infrastructure, a large internal single market. But our companies, especially our start-ups and small businesses, are often held back by layers of rigid rules,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
After cheering the so-called “Brussels effect” whereby EU laws were seen as influencing jurisdictions around the world, European lawmakers and rights defenders increasingly fear the EU is withdrawing from its role as Big Tech’s watchdog.
Campaigners from different groups including People vs Big Tech drove across Brussels on Wednesday with large billboards calling on EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to stand up to Trump and the tech sector, and defend the bloc’s digital rules.
– Striking a ‘balance’ –
The commission says the plans will help European businesses catch up with American and Chinese rivals — and reduce dependence on foreign tech giants.
For many EU states, the concern is that the focus on regulation has come at the expense of innovation — although Brussels insists it remains committed to protecting European citizens’ rights.
But experts say the EU lags behind the bigger economies for several reasons including its fragmented market and limited access to the financing needed to scale up.
The EU raced to pass its sweeping AI law that entered into force last year, but dozens of Europe’s biggest companies — including Airbus, Lufthansa and Mercedes-Benz — called for a pause on the parts they said risked stifling innovation.
Brussels met them part of the way by agreeing to delay applying provisions on “high-risk” AI — such as models that could endanger safety, health or citizens’ fundamental rights.
With the proposed change on cookie banners, an EU official said the bloc wanted to address “fatigue” at the pop-ups seeking users’ consent for tracking on websites, and “reduce the number of times” the windows appear.
The commission wants users to be able to indicate their consent with one click, and save cookie preferences through settings on browsers and operating systems.
Brussels has insisted European users’ data privacy will be protected.
“It is essential that the European Union acts to deliver on simplification and competitiveness while also maintaining a high level of protection for the fundamental rights of individuals — and this is precisely the balance this package strikes,” EU justice commissioner Michael McGrath said.
By AFP
November 18, 2025
Image: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File SPENCER PLATT
Raziye Akkoc
Amazon and Microsoft cloud services could face stricter EU competition rules after Brussels on Tuesday launched probes to assess their market power.
Brussels had been under pressure to include the services under the scope of a major law because of the dominance of US cloud providers, which hold around two thirds of market share in the 27-nation bloc.
The European Commission, the EU’s digital regulator, said it will investigate whether Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft’s Azure should come under the scope of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Despite being the third largest, Google Cloud was not included.
The DMA is part of the European Union’s bolstered legal armoury that seeks to make the digital market fairer with a list of do’s and don’ts for Big Tech companies, which it refers to as “gatekeepers” such as Apple.
The twin probes aim to assess whether AWS and Microsoft “should be designated as the gatekeepers on cloud computing,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said at a Berlin summit focused on pushing greater European digital sovereignty.
Their cloud services are in the EU’s crosshairs – Copyright AFP/File BAY ISMOYO
In a statement the commission said it would analyse whether the two “act as important gateways between businesses and consumers, despite not meeting the DMA gatekeeper thresholds for size, user number and market position”.
EU regulators will seek to conclude the investigations within a year.
Microsoft and AWS insisted the cloud sector was competitive.
“We’re confident that when the European Commission considers the facts, it will recognise what we all see — the cloud computing sector is extremely dynamic, with companies enjoying lots of choice, unprecedented innovation opportunity, and low costs,” an AWS spokesperson said.
“Designating cloud providers as gatekeepers isn’t worth the risks of stifling invention or raising costs for European companies,” the spokesperson added.
“The cloud sector in Europe is innovative, highly competitive and an accelerator for growth across the economy. We stand ready to contribute” to the probe, a Microsoft spokesperson said.
Brussels announced it would also open a third probe to find out whether it needs to update the DMA to make sure it can combat practices that “may limit competitiveness and fairness in the cloud computing sector in the EU”.
– Dominant US cloud –
AWS leads the cloud computing market, followed closely by Microsoft Azure, with Google Cloud in third place.
Brussels defended the decision not to probe Google.
“Our preliminary evidence shows that Google is playing a less important role for now on our market than the two ones that we’re investigating,” EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier told reporters.
There has also been growing concern after a raft of outages in recent months.
In October Microsoft cloud clients experienced widespread service disruptions. Among them was Alaska Airlines, whose customers were unable to check in.
That came after Amazon cloud troubles last month forced popular services ranging from streaming platforms to messaging apps offline for hours.
Amazon and Microsoft already face stricter rules for their other services including Amazon Marketplace and Microsoft’s LinkedIn platform.
The DMA gives the EU the power to impose fines of up to 10 percent of a company’s total global turnover in the event of any violations.
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