The European Union is set next week to kickstart a rollback of landmark rules on artificial intelligence and data protection that face powerful pushback on both sides of the Atlantic.

Part of a bid to slash red tape for European businesses struggling against US and Chinese rivals, the move is drawing accusations that Brussels is putting competitiveness ahead of citizens' privacy and protection.

Brussels denies that pressure from the US administration influenced its push to "simplify" the bloc's digital rules, which have drawn the wrath of President Donald Trump and American tech giants.

But the European Commission says it has heard the concerns of EU firms and wants to make it easier for them to access users' data for AI development -- a move critics attack as a threat to privacy.

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