EU data chief adds voice to unions’ fears of ‘carte blanche’ use of workers’ data for AI

24 Sep 2026, 16:35 by https://euobserver.com/author/fred-byrne/ · EUobserver

‘This legislative change primarily benefits the big players, those who have collected massive amounts of Europeans’ data,’ said privacy activist Max Schrems (Source: Christin Hume)

EU politics

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By Fred Byrne,
Brussels
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EU data protection chief Wojciech Wiewiórowski has joined trade unions and privacy activists in their concerns over the bloc’s ‘Digital Omnibus’ — which includes amendments to EU privacy rules that may allow data harvesting from workers without their permission to feed AI models.

“When it comes to processing of personal data in the context of the development and deployment of AI, I am very concerned that the text would remove all references to additional safeguards from the article in question, including the unconditional right to object for individuals,” Wiewiórowski told EUobserver.

“The Digital Omnibus should be about fostering responsible innovation, not a dilution of core concepts or safeguards of data protection law,” he said.

The leaked proposal, seen by EUobserver, is set to be discussed at the technical level on Friday (25 September) in the EU Council, including Article 88c (now renamed as 88bis) of GDPR .

Under the current rules, Article 88 of GDPR covers processing of data in the employment context.

“The processing of personal data in the context of the development and operation of an AI system or of an AI model may be carried out for a legitimate interest of the controller,” reads the leaked proposal put forward by the six-month rotating Irish EU Council presidency.

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'This legislative change primarily benefits the big players, those who have collected massive amounts of Europeans' data,' said privacy activist Max Schrems (Source: Christin Hume)