AI: EU Member States approve “digital expropriation” for AI companies
EU member states have approved a change to GDPR that would make personal data processing automatically lawful when it occurs 'in the context of AI,' according to reports. Critics, including privacy advocate Max Schrems, say the provision would let major AI companies use decades of collected personal data with few restrictions.
Why this matters: Europeans have had a legal right to control their personal data for years. This change would let AI companies treat that data as fair game, just by framing what they do as AI work. That is a broad carve-out. It does not matter how the data was originally collected or what people were told when they handed it over. The companies who benefit most are the ones already holding the largest data stockpiles. If this holds, 'AI context' becomes a phrase that quietly dissolves data protection rights built over decades.
Who should care: Lawyers · Privacy officers · AI governance · General readers · Policy
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