European Union: EDPB and EDPS adopted Joint Opinion 1/2026 on Digital Omnibus on AI

On 20 January 2026, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted Joint Opinion 1/2026 regarding the proposal for a Regulation as regards the simplification of the implementation of harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Digital Omnibus on AI). The aim of the joint opinion is to evaluate proposed amendments to the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) to ensure that the simplification of rules does not undermine the fundamental rights of individuals or the protection of personal data. The EDPB and the EDPS recommended clearly circumscribing processing of special categories of personal data for bias detection and correction purposes and maintaining the standard of strict necessity for the processing of special categories of personal data for bias detection and correction across all artificial intelligence (AI) systems and models. The authorities also advised against removing the registration obligation for providers of AI systems deemed not high-risk, noting that public registration is essential for transparency and accountability. Furthermore, the opinion suggested that competent national data protection authorities should be associated with the operation of European Union-level AI regulatory sandboxes and recommends that the EDPB be granted an advisory role to ensure consistency. Finally, the EDPB and the EDPS expressed concern regarding the proposed postponement of the implementation timeline for high-risk AI rules, invited legislators to consider whether it would be appropriate to maintain the original timeline for certain obligations, such as transparency, and requested that delays, even if necessary, be minimised.