New Publication! | Towards a GDPR revision: a matter of quality or just a formality?
New Working Paper on the Proposed Revision of the GDPR
Published within the 2025 Call for Papers of the EVOCHAIR Jean Monnet Chair, the paper asks whether the GDPR revision proposed in the ‘Omnibus IV’ package is a matter of quality or just a formality.
The working paper “Towards a GDPR Revision: A Matter of Quality or Just a Formality?”, by Chiara Spiniello, has been published online among the first working papers of the 2025 Call for Papers “EU Values in the Digital Ecosystem” of the EVOCHAIR Jean Monnet Chair (EU Values in the Online Digital Environment), announced on the EVOCHAIR website on 2 March 2026.
The paper examines the proposal presented by the European Commission on 21 May 2025 as part of the ‘Omnibus IV’ simplification package, which amends Articles 30(5), 40(1) and 42(1) GDPR, and compares it with the United Kingdom’s Data Use and Access Act 2025.
Abstract
The paper examines the proposal to revise the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), presented by the European Commission on 21 May 2025 as part of the ‘Omnibus IV’ simplification package. After reconstructing the legislative process and outlining the proposed amendments to Articles 30(5), 40(1) and 42(1) GDPR, the study critically analyses the reform’s impact on the balance between the simplification of compliance obligations and the effective protection of fundamental rights, also considering the comparison with the United Kingdom’s Data Use and Access Act 2025. The author concludes that the revision represents a matter of quality rather than mere formality, as it affects the principles of proportionality and accountability, and calls for the evolution of the European model towards an intelligent compliance framework capable of reconciling competitiveness, innovation and data protection.
Simplification or deregulation? The future of the GDPR
The paper follows three lines of argument: the reasons behind the reform proposal – procedural simplification, reduced burdens on undertakings and more harmonised application across Member States; a comparison of the articles under revision in their current and reformed versions, with the UK GDPR as a case study; and a broader reflection on the advisability of deregulating the digital ecosystem.
It concludes that the revision is a matter of quality rather than mere formality, since it affects the principles of proportionality and accountability, and calls for the European model to evolve towards an “intelligent compliance” framework capable of reconciling competitiveness, innovation and data protection.
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