22 July 2026
Commission concludes eligibility checks for two European Citizens' Initiatives on digital identity and age-verification, and on migration and asylum
ec.europa.eu A citizens' initiative against mandatory digital ID and age verification was ruled admissible; organisers need one million signatures within 12 months.
21 July 2026
US lawmakers urge Trump to act against EU tech rules, suggest trade probes
reuters.com Twenty-five Republican lawmakers urged Trump to open Section 301 investigations and consider tariffs over the Digital Markets Act.
French lawmakers vote on social media ban for children
reuters.com French lawmakers voted on banning under-15s from social media, with platforms required to use age-verification systems approved by CNIL.
Europe's 27 leaders to take on AI — finally
politico.eu António Costa will put AI on the agenda of an EU leaders' summit for the first time, at one of the three remaining meetings this year.
AMLA finalises standards for supervisory cooperation in direct supervision
amla.europa.eu AMLA published final standards for sharing data and supervisory history with national regulators before it takes over direct supervision in 2028.
20 July 2026
The European Parliament's answer to its AI worries: More AI
politico.eu Parliament is giving MEPs and staff sanctioned access to models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Mistral after hallucinated citations appeared in drafts.
The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
edri.org A leaked draft shows the Commission close to granting US border authorities access to EU biometric databases in exchange for continued visa-free travel.
Commission publishes final Guidelines on AI Act Article 50 transparency obligations
digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu Final guidelines require providers to mark AI-generated content machine-readably and deployers to disclose deepfakes, emotion recognition and AI-written text.
Commission fines AliExpress €550 million for breaching the Digital Services Act
ec.europa.eu The Commission fined AliExpress €550m, the largest DSA penalty yet, for failing to curb illegal and unsafe products and under-resourcing moderation.
19 July 2026
Trump pushes UN 'free speech' declaration in veiled attack on EU tech regulation
politico.eu A draft US declaration to be circulated at the UN General Assembly frames platform rules such as the DSA as threats to freedom of expression.
17 July 2026
EDPB calls for legal basis for cross-regulatory information sharing
edpb.europa.eu The EDPB asked the Commission for a legal basis letting data protection authorities share confidential information with regulators in adjacent fields.
"Made in Europe" password manager Passwork found to share Russian origins and state-certified ties
occrp.org Passwork, sold as a European password manager and used by Dutch and Irish public bodies, shares code and ties with an FSB-certified Russian firm.
16 July 2026
US judge halts sanctions policy that hit ex-EU commissioner Breton
politico.eu A federal judge paused the State Department policy imposing visa bans on officials who enforce platform laws, including Thierry Breton, on First Amendment grounds.
The digital rulebook is fit for purpose: better enforcement is needed, not simplification
edri.org EDRi's submission to the Digital Fitness Check argues the rulebook works and asks for enforcement, a spyware ban and AdTech rules instead of simplification.
The Digital Omnibus is going on summer break. Your rights are not.
edri.org The AI Omnibus is law, but the data package stalled in Council after a blocking minority led by Germany and Poland pushed decisions past the summer.
Proposed Europol reform dangerously erodes privacy, automates surveillance, and sidelines oversight
edri.org The Commission's third Europol reform in six years adds €3bn, auto-uploads national police data, lowers the biometric threshold and drops prior EDPS approval.
Proposed Europol reform dangerously erodes privacy, automates surveillance, and sidelines oversight
ec.europa.eu The Europol reform would double its budget to €3bn, automate uploads of national police data and let it bypass EDPS approval for urgent sensitive processing.
Judgment of the Court in Case C-421/24 AGCOM (Online gambling): Google may be held liable for the YouTube videos of a content creator with whom it has a commercial partnership
curia.europa.eu Google cannot claim intermediary immunity for videos from a creator it partners with commercially, the CJEU held, upholding a €750,000 Italian fine.
Hadopi law (2009–2026): French Conseil d'État finds the surveillance system breaches EU fundamental rights
edri.org France's Conseil d'État found the Hadopi graduated-response system breaches EU fundamental rights and ordered the government to repeal the key decree provisions.
EU debuts new digital sovereignty assessment tools
commission.europa.eu The Commission published guidance letting organisations score cloud and AI providers against its eight sovereignty criteria, after questions over a €180m award.