Equinet, in collaboration with ENNHRI (the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions), has issued a joint statement urging co-legislators to preserve strong equality and fundamental rights protections in the AI Act and the GDPR currently subject to substantial amendments through the Digital Omnibus Regulation Proposal and the Digital Omnibus AI Regulation Proposal.
The European Commission’s new digital simplification initiative consists of two interlinked legislative proposals that suggest substantial amendments to a number of pieces of data legislation, including notably the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Equinet and ENNHRI are concerned that the proposed amendments are proceeding without adequate impact assessments and public consultation, and risk the erosion of fundamental rights protections, including equality and non-discrimination.
This joint statement represents the collective voices of over 60 Equality Bodies (NEBs) and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in over 40 European states. NEBs and NHRIs play a key role in protecting equality and fundamental rights in the digital space, including as designated Article 77 Authorities under the EU AI Act and through their mandate to monitor compliance with fundamental rights, including the right to privacy, and to promote equality, combat discrimination, support victims, and monitor discrimination under EU law.
Given their roles and expertise, NHRIs and NEBs are well-placed to advise on amendments to both the AI Act and the GDPR since these changes have the potential to directly affect the protection of fundamental rights and non-discrimination. Since the conception of the AI Act, Equinet and ENNHRI have consistently called for strong and effective equality and fundamental rights safeguards, including Equinet’s recommendations for the AI Act trilogues, ENNHRI’s Common Position on the AI Act, and the Joint Equinet and ENNHRI Statement on the AI Act Trilogue.
We urge the co-legislators to maintain equality and fundamental rights safeguards as they consider the proposed amendments under the Digital Omnibus proposals. Efforts to simplify the digital rules should reflect a fundamental rights-based approach. To achieve this, we recommend to:
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Preserve AI System Registration Requirements under Article 49(2) of the AI Act.
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Safeguard Powers of Article 77 Fundamental Rights Authorities under the AI Act.
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Maintain High-Risk AI System Timeline in Article 113, Chapter III of the AI Act.
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Preserve Strict Necessity and Fundamental Rights Safeguards in Article 10(5) AI Act When Introducing Article 4a on Processing Special Categories of Personal Data.
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Prevent significant weakening of AI developers’ and deployers’ responsibility to ensure AI literacy for their staff.
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Reject the weakening of the definition of personal data under Article 4(1) of the GDPR.
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Preserve key information obligations under GDPR Article 13.
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Reject proposed amendment to Article 22 GDPR on automated decision-making.
The recommendations in this statement are made without prejudice to the mandate of Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) and with reference to the EDPB-EDPS Joint Opinion on the Digital Omnibus on AI published in January 2026. Rather, NHRIs’ and NEBs’ expertise can complement that of DPAs by highlighting how weakening data safeguards can undermine equality, accountability, and access to remedies, particularly for groups at risk of discrimination.