The 2026 global privacy and data regulatory landscape
This 2026 regulatory briefing covers the EU Digital Omnibus, EU AI Act implications, new U.S. state laws, age verification, biometrics, and enforcement trends, plus a practical enterprise preparation framework.
2026 Privacy & Data Protection Regulatory Landscape
As privacy and artificial intelligence governance requirements accelerate across Europe, the United States, and key international markets, enterprises are facing a year defined less by convergence than by regulatory whiplash. In this highly researched whitepaper, Ethyca breaks down the most consequential developments shaping regulatiosn in 2026, with particular focus on the European Commission’s Digital Omnibus and implications for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act.
You’ll learn what is actually changing and what remains uncertain, from “legitimate interest” pathways for model training and reforms to consent mechanics, to delayed timelines tied to technical standards. The guide also tracks continued U.S. fragmentation, including new state laws taking effect in January 2026, emerging app store age verification obligations, and lesser-known shifts like Colorado’s “willful disregard” standard, expanding biometric and neural data protections, and the rise of website privacy class actions tied to third-party tracking behavior.
Whether you’re scaling a global privacy program or pressure-testing your readiness for enforcement, this whitepaper provides a practical preparation framework focused on governance, monitoring, and infrastructure that can adapt as rules shift—without sacrificing trust.
Michael Brown
Michael leads product development for Ethyca’s privacy infrastructure, including Helios and the Fides open-source platform. With a background in systems architecture and developer experience, he focuses on building tools that bring real-time observability and automation to enterprise privacy operations. His work bridges the gap between compliance and engineering, enabling teams to manage data responsibly without slowing down innovation.
CEO & Founder, EthycaCillian Kieran
As founder of Ethyca, Cillian is pioneering automated approaches to data privacy and governance. His work with global enterprises like Heineken, Sony, and Dell has shaped Ethyca's mission to make privacy engineering accessible and scalable. Under his leadership, Ethyca has developed breakthrough open-source privacy tools that help organizations automate compliance and build user trust programmatically.
Understand how privacy, legal, and engineering teams are adapting to 2026’s most disruptive regulatory shifts, from the EU’s Digital Omnibus proposals and knock-on effects for the EU AI Act to continued U.S. state-by-state expansion and emerging app store age verification mandates. This whitepaper provides a practical roadmap for managing jurisdiction-specific exposure, operationalizing repeatable compliance workflows, and building governance infrastructure that stays resilient as enforcement tightens and definitions around sensitive, biometric, and neural data evolve.
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Congratulations are in order it seems - you're officially part of the 0.01% who don't just take things at face value.
And since you're here, yes, we take privacy seriously too.
Stay curious, stay private.
– Ethyca
Congratulations are in order it seems - you're officially part of the 0.01% who don't just take things at face value.
And since you're here, yes, we take privacy seriously too.
Stay curious, stay private.
– Ethyca
Congratulations are in order it seems - you're officially part of the 0.01% who don't just take things at face value.
And since you're here, yes, we take privacy seriously too.
Stay curious, stay private.
– Ethyca