2026 will not be the year of an abrupt break. It will be the year of a decisive convergence: artificial intelligence will become the standard for analytics tools, data architectures will continue to centralize, and regulations will reach a level where approximation will no longer be tenable.

In other words: analytics will have to prove that it can be useful, robust and defensible.

1) RGPD: the era of massive sanctions

The RGPD won’t fundamentally change in 2026. But its application will change in scale.

After years of education, the European authorities will enter a phase of more systematic control, with a clear deterrent rationale: sanctions will become a standardized regulatory lever.

Control priorities will be very specific:

  • the reality of consent (beyond the simple blindfold),
  • effective minimization of the data collected,
  • documentation of technical choices,
  • transfers outside the EU,
  • and the alignment between “privacy” rhetoric and actual practices.

✅ Key point: in 2026, the question will no longer be “am I compliant on paper?” But: “would my compliance stand up to a technical audit?”

2) ePrivacy: the underestimated (yet decisive) front

While the ePrivacy Regulation remains blocked, the ePrivacy Directive is already active in national legislation.

It governs terminal access: cookies, tracers, SDKs, local storage. Its strength: it applies as soon as a terminal is read or written, even if the data is not personal in the RGPD sense.

The most frequent offences :

  • tracers deposited before consent,
  • refusal more complex than acceptance,
  • premature activation of analytics/advertising tools,
  • dark patterns in consent interfaces.

✅ 2026: mobile apps in the crosshairs Audits will extend to mobile: events sent as soon as opened, SDKs active before consent, advertising identifiers transmitted without legal basis.

3) US-EU transfers: fragile stability

The Data Privacy Framework (DPF) has been securing certain transfers to the United States since 2023. But this stability is temporary.

A Schrems III-type appeal is widely anticipated, as was the case for Safe Harbor and then Privacy Shield.

Possible scenarios :

  • DPF maintained but requirements tightened,
  • partial invalidation (data types / sectors),
  • total invalidation, implying a return to SCC and in-depth impact analysis.

What organizations need to do now:

  • precisely map flows to the US,
  • identify European alternatives,
  • prepare a switchover plan,
  • reduce dependency wherever possible.

✅ Key point: the DPF is a reprieve, not a final solution.

4) Digital Omnibus: simplification… but also tightening

The Digital Omnibus project aims to streamline the stack of texts (RGPD, DSA, DMA, Data Act, AI Act…). But beware: simplifying does not mean lightening.

We can expect :

  • more consistency between rules,
  • fewer gray areas,
  • more legible obligations that are easier to monitor,
  • and more stringent requirements on system design (privacy by design, accountability, documentation).

TheAI Act, in particular, will strengthen transparency obligations on AI uses in analytics: scoring, prediction, personalization.

✅ Key point: this framework won’t make compliance any easier… just less circumventable.

2026: the end of approximation

In 2026, privacy will become measurable, verifiable and sanctionable. Analytics will have to perform – but also be governed, documented, and consistent with the promise of trust.

The organizations that come out on top will be those that :

  • treat compliance as a lever for data quality,
  • will design sober, defensible implementations,
  • align performance, trust and governance.

Checklist: are you ready for 2026?

✅ 1) Consent & user experience

  • Is refusal as simple as acceptance?
  • Is your CMP audited regularly (web + mobile)?
  • Is your consent rate monitored, explained and controlled?

✅ 2) Tracking & minimization

  • Do you collect only what is useful and justifiable?
  • Are tags/SDKs conditional on actual consent?
  • Do you have a clear policy on sensitive data / identifiers?

✅ 3) Data quality & AI

  • Can you use your GA4 / Piano / Adobe, etc. data for modeling / scoring?
  • Do your teams know how to interpret the modeled data and their limitations?
  • Are your AI uses (scoring, personalization) documented and explainable?

✅ 4) International transfers & dependencies

  • Are your flows to the US mapped (tools, data, purposes)?
  • Have you identified any European alternatives for critical bricks?
  • Is there a switchover plan in case the DPF is called into question?

✅ 5) Documentation & auditability

  • Are your technical choices justified and accessible?
  • Is your data processing register up to date and usable?
  • Can you complete an audit (technical + legal) in just a few days?

At Optimal Ways, we put our expertise at the service of e-commerce and retail players to secure their analytics and privacy challenges.