Between Simplification and Stagnation: The EU Digital Omnibus and the Future of Data Protection Law

Abstract The EU Digital Omnibus has been presented as a targeted exercise in regulatory streamlining but has prompted significant criticism from data protection observers concerned with regression, fundamental rights erosion, and loss of coherence within the EU’s digital acquis. While these concerns warrant serious engagement, this article argues that the debate risks treating legislative reform itself as normatively suspect. This is problematic given the existence of persistent structural and operational weaknesses within the current framework. The central issue, therefore, is not whether EU data protection law should evolve but how reform can address these deficiencies without undermining its legitimacy.