EU: Digital Omnibus and digital fitness check announced. The European Commission published a Digital Omnibus package and a digital fitness check consultation to simplify and align EU digital rules, explicitly including the AI Act, GDPR, data, cyber and platform legislation. The initiative aims to ensure “timely, smooth and proportionate” implementation of AI obligations and to test the cumulative impact of digital rules on businesses and administrations.
EU: Concerns that simplification weakens AI and privacy protections. Reuters reports that the new proposals would ease AI and privacy rules in areas such as high-risk AI deployment and data governance, prompting criticism from civil-society groups that the Commission is “caving to Big Tech”.
EU: Civil-society groups warn of rollback of digital protections. European Digital Rights (EDRi) issued a press release describing the Digital Omnibus as a “major rollback” of EU digital protections. It stresses that reopening the AI Act and other core instruments risks undermining hard-won safeguards on data, privacy and fundamental rights.
Global: Switzerland urged to strengthen protection against AI-driven discrimination. Swissinfo reports on a legal opinion from the Federal Commission against Racism and the Federal Commission for Women’s Issues, warning that Swiss law inadequately protects people from discrimination caused by AI systems and recommending stronger safeguards and regulatory intervention.
Regulation
EU: Proposal for Regulation on simplification for AI rules. The European Commission released COM(2025) 836, a proposal for a Regulation “on simplification for AI rules” as part of the Digital Omnibus on AI. It introduces targeted measures to streamline the application of certain AI Act provisions, including clarifying obligations for implementers and seeking to reduce compliance complexity for businesses, while maintaining the risk-based structure of the Act.
EU: Adjustment of timelines for high-risk AI implementation. Anadolu Agency reports that under the digital simplification package the Commission proposes pushing back the full application of some high-risk AI obligations until late 2027, arguing that this gives providers and authorities more time to adapt. Critics fear this may delay protection for individuals affected by high-risk AI systems.
UK: Regulatory landscape for AI in healthcare clarified. The MHRA published an article by Professor Alastair Denniston on the future regulation of AI in healthcare, emphasising the need for robust evidence, continuous monitoring and clear accountability across the lifecycle of AI-enabled medical technologies. It frames AI regulation as an evolution of existing safety and performance standards rather than a complete break with past practice.
UK: Data-protection and sectoral rules for health AI practice. A detailed article by Formiti Data International outlines the increasingly dense UK regulatory landscape for AI in healthcare, highlighting the interaction between the UK GDPR, common law duty of confidentiality, NHS frameworks and emerging AI-specific guidance, and urging organisations to embed regulatory design into AI deployment strategies.
CoE: Call for AI and education consultancy services. The Council of Europe Education Department launched a call for tenders for consultancy services in the field of artificial intelligence and education within its 2024–2030 Education Strategy, signalling ongoing standard-setting and capacity-building on AI literacy and human-rights-respecting use of AI in education systems.
Academia / Policy Commentary
EU: Debate over competitiveness versus protection in AI regulation. World Politics Review published a column arguing that the EU risks sacrificing AI safety and rights protection “on the altar of competitiveness” if simplification efforts overly weaken AI Act safeguards, particularly around high-risk systems and biometric surveillance. The piece situates the Digital Omnibus within a broader tension between industrial policy and fundamental-rights protection.
Global: AI governance and regulation dialogues at Oxford. The Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative’s autumn newsletter, dated 19 November 2025, highlights a recent dialogue between Chinese, British, European and American legal scholars on AI regulation and governance, covering AI law trajectories in leading jurisdictions and future directions for copyright and data protection frameworks.
Adoption of AI
EU: Employers unprepared for EU AI Act compliance. Law360 reports that fewer than one in five employers feel very prepared to comply with the EU AI Act, despite its approaching application deadlines. Many firms lack full inventories of AI systems, have not clearly allocated responsibility for compliance and are unsure how AI Act duties interact with existing labour and equality laws.
UK / global: AI adoption and cybersecurity challenges. BAE Systems published an insight piece on AI adoption and cybersecurity, noting that while AI tools can enhance threat detection and incident response, they also expand attack surfaces, create new dependency risks and require careful governance to prevent misuse, data leakage and model poisoning.
Events
International: Webinar on AI in the legislative process. The International Legislation and Law Reform Foundation (iLegis), together with Penn Carey Law, is hosting a webinar today on “Using AI in the Legislative Process: A Rapidly Changing Environment”, focusing on how AI tools are already used to draft, analyse and manage legislation and what safeguards legislators should adopt.
UK: Webinar on AI governance in financial services. MBL Seminars is running a webinar today on navigating AI governance and compliance in UK financial services, examining regulatory expectations, risk management and practical implementation strategies for AI tools in a highly regulated sector.
Global: Health AI regulation and capacity-building. The Global Health Connector Digital Summit, taking place virtually on 18–19 November, includes a track on “Health AI: regulation and capacity-building for responsible use”, bringing together stakeholders to discuss regulatory capacity, standards and best practices for AI in global health systems.
Takeaway
Today marks a significant procedural moment for EU AI governance, as the Commission formally opens up the AI Act and related instruments through the Digital Omnibus and digital fitness check. Supporters frame this as necessary simplification, while civil-society groups warn of a potential weakening of protections. In parallel, UK and international actors emphasise sectoral governance in healthcare, education and financial services, and highlight gaps in organisational preparedness. The overall trajectory points to AI law moving into a phase of detailed adjustment and implementation, in which institutional design and enforcement practice will matter as much as headline rules.
Sources: Reuters, European Commission, EDRi, Anadolu Agency, MHRA, Formiti Data International, Council of Europe, Swissinfo, World Politics Review, Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, Law360, BAE Systems, iLegis, MBL Seminars, Global Health Connector