For years, the European Union has played a leading role in establishing regulations that safeguard human rights online, but recent moves under the guise of “simplification” threaten to weaken these protections. Digital and human rights advocates, including Amnesty International, have highlighted that emerging technologies increasingly impact individuals and communities, underscoring the need for stronger rights safeguards rather than rollbacks. Despite this, the EU’s simplification agenda is putting existing protections, such as those under the AI Act and data protection rules, at risk, with expedited procedures proceeding without proper impact assessments.
One of the key areas under threat is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which protects people worldwide against misuse of personal data by both states and Big Tech. Weakening GDPR could enable widespread data harvesting, profiling, discriminatory treatment, and sharing with state authorities for surveillance, potentially endangering human rights and national security. The law’s enforcement has been inconsistent, but its potential as a safeguard against unlawful data exploitation remains critical.
The AI Act, another regulation at risk, is designed to prevent harms from artificial intelligence systems. Research by Amnesty International has shown that AI systems used in social benefits enforcement in Denmark, for example, disproportionately targeted migrants and marginalized groups, resulting in both digital and invasive analogue surveillance. Weakening the AI Act would further reduce transparency and accountability, allowing companies to self-certify AI systems as “safe” without proper oversight. Similar risks have been observed in other countries, including the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Serbia, and Hungary, where AI and facial recognition technologies have been used in ways that infringe on privacy and civil liberties.
The simplification agenda also threatens the protections provided by the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), which regulate large digital platforms. Amnesty International research has documented how algorithmic content curation on platforms such as Facebook and TikTok has contributed to severe human rights abuses, including ethnic violence and the promotion of harmful content to minors. Weakening these laws could further expose users to online harms, discrimination, and manipulation.
Civil society organizations argue that EU regulations must be strengthened and enforced rather than dismantled. The Commission’s assumption that rights protections hinder innovation is fundamentally flawed, as true innovation should enhance technology while protecting human rights. Rolling back these laws in favor of corporate interests risks enabling Big Tech to exploit personal data, reduce accountability, and undermine both individual freedoms and environmental protections. Advocates call for opposition to the simplification agenda, insisting that human rights cannot be compromised in the pursuit of deregulation or profit.
