Council removes revised definition of personal data from GDPR omnibus
23/02/2026 | EURACTIV
The Council of the European Union has withdrawn a proposal to redefine personal data within the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Digital Omnibus package, following opposition from regulators and civil society. The decision to retain the original scope of the GDPR reveals a lack of willingness on the part of member states to reopen established data protection concepts.
Instead of legislative redesign, the Council is prioritising regulatory clarity through the European Data Protection Board's (EDPB) forthcoming guidance on pseudonymisation. As such, the guidance is intended to provide practical direction for organisations without altering legal definitions.
The approach indicates a strategic shift towards strengthening enforcement and implementation through official guidance rather than reopening sensitive debates that could weaken existing digital rights.
The compromise text also maintains links with the ongoing review of the ePrivacy Directive.
£ - This article requires a subscription.
A version of this article is available without subscription in digwatch.
Training Announcement: Freevacy offers a range of independent data protection qualifications from IAPP and BCS. Our certified courses are available at foundation and practitioner levels and cover multiple legal jurisdictions, data protection operations management, and the implementation of complex privacy solutions in technical environments. Find out more.
What is this page?
You are reading a summary article on the Privacy Newsfeed, a free resource for DPOs and other professionals with privacy or data protection responsibilities helping them stay informed of industry news all in one place. The information here is a brief snippet relating to a single piece of original content or several articles about a common topic or thread. The main contributor is listed in the top left-hand corner, just beneath the article title.
The Privacy Newsfeed monitors over 300 global publications, of which more than 6,250 summary articles have been posted to the online archive dating back to the beginning of 2020. A weekly roundup is available by email every Friday.