I attended the EDPB event on #PayorOkay models and left deeply concerned. The discussion lacked acknowledgment of data protection as a fundamental right and ignored clear GDPR principles making the model unlawful. Instead, it conflated ads with core services, sidelining fairness and rights. Surveillance ads harm individuals and society, yet their ‘value’ is overstated. We must reclaim the debate: data protection is key to human dignity and a rights-respecting digital future.

French Interior Minister recently said that ‘the rule of law is neither intangible nor sacred.’ Made in the context of immigration, this remark signals a troubling readiness to compromise democratic principles to address oversimplified threats. This erosion of legal safeguards is mirrored in corporate lobbying, where ‘competitiveness’ is used to argue against regulatory constraints. This rhetoric risks reframing the rule of law as expendable, ignoring its essential role in protecting rights.