Amendment 470· Digital Omnibus proposal Recital 46

Wordingagainst the Commission’s

(46) Data subjects should have the possibility to rely on automated and machine-readable indications of their choice to consent or refuse a consent request or object to the processing of data. Such means should follow the state of the art. They can be implemented in the settings of a web browser or in the EU Digital Identity Wallet as set out by Regulation (EU) 914/2014, or any other adequate means. Rules set out in this Regulation should support the emergence of market-driven solutions with appropriate interfaces.In order to address the issue of consent fatigue and to explore long-term technical solutions that enhance user autonomy while reducing the prevalence of interruptive cookie banners, the Commission is invited to promote a voluntary and time-limited pilot project. This pilot should aim to develop and test interoperable, machine-readable standards for communicating user preferences. Such a project should be developed in close cooperation with the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and relevant stakeholders, ensuring it remains fully voluntary, technology-neutral, and without prejudice to the high level of protection provided by Directive 2002/58/EC and Regulation (EU)2016/679. The controller should be obliged to respect automated and machine-readable indications of data subject’s choices once there are available standards. In light of the importance of independent journalism in a democratic society and in order not to undermine the economic basis for that, media service providers should not be obliged to respect the machine-readable indications of data subject’s choices.The pilot should specifically evaluate the feasibility of decentralized standards that prevent market fragmentation and avoid the creation of new digital gatekeepers, while simultaneously protecting innovation and competitiveness in Europe and ensuring that European companies in the digital environment can continue to operate without significant and disproportionate disruptions to their business models. The obligation for providers of web browsers to provide the technical means for data subjects to make choices with respect to the processing should not undermine the possibility for media service providers to request consent by data subjects.

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