Why Europe's craven capitulation to Big Tech confirms that the wheels have come off the Omnibus of supposed digital ethical leadership

After decades of macho posturing and pious hectoring of the Americans on how they ought to be running their tech industry, the Eurocrats caved to pressure from the silicon lobby today as the European Commission (EC) proposes watering down tough legislation that was previously pitched by Brussels as being essential to a future based on personal rights and democratic freedoms.

The launch of the Digital Omnibus is being sold as a tidying-up of existing legislation, a sorting out of overlapping areas of laws such as GDPR, the e-Privacy Directive, the Data Act and the AI Act, and hey, look folks, less red tape! Isn’t that nice for everyone?

In reality, as EU Anti-Trust Chief Henna Virkkunnen wipes a little speck of self-righteousness from his eye and parrots the party line at the launch, it’s actually a humiliating climbdown from Europe’s self-appointed high moral ground and removes any ...