EU Member States plan "digital expropriation" in the interest of AI companies (noyb.eu)

A leaked proposal from the Irish Presidency suggests that EU Member States prioritize the profit motives of major AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta over citizens' fundamental data protection rights. The proposal would permit the use of personal data, collected over decades, for AI purposes without user consent, claiming a "legitimate interest" that supersedes privacy rights. This radical shift raises alarms among privacy advocates, who argue it constitutes a form of "digital expropriation," allowing companies to exploit vast amounts of personal data for AI systems—potentially for harmful applications like misinformation or mass surveillance. This move is significant for the AI/ML community as it fundamentally changes the legal framework surrounding data use, effectively turning the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on its head. The proposed Article 88bis would ensure that virtually unrestricted access to people's data is granted as long as it is supposedly used in the context of AI. This could shield AI corporations from accountability, weakening the protections that have existed since the 1980s, undermining user trust, and potentially creating a competitive disadvantage for EU companies against larger, data-rich American firms. The broader implications might include stifling innovation in ethical AI practices and jeopardizing long-standing data protection commitments within the European Union.