After nearly three years since the initial draft proposal, the European Parliament has greenlit comprehensive legislation aimed at regulating artificial intelligence (AI).
Following an agreement on AI development reached by officials in December, the Parliament members voted on Wednesday to approve the AI Act, garnering 523 votes in favor, 46 against, and 49 abstentions.
According to the EU, these regulations are meant to address obligations to AI applications regarding their potential risks and impacts. The rules also seek to:
Protect fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability from high-risk AI, while boosting innovation and establishing Europe as a leader in the field.
While the legislation has not yet been enacted into law, it is currently undergoing scrutiny by lawyer-linguists. Additionally, formal enforcement by the European Council is required. Nonetheless, it is anticipated that the AI Act will be implemented before the conclusion of the current legislative term, preceding the upcoming parliamentary election in early June.
Following the enactment of the AI Act into law, the majority of its provisions are scheduled to come into effect after 24 months, while bans on prohibited applications will be enforced after just six months. The European Union is taking a firm stance against practices that threaten citizens’ rights.
The AI Act is set to outlaw biometric categorization systems reliant on sensitive characteristics, alongside the untargeted scraping of facial images sourced from both CCTV footage and online platforms to create facial recognition databases. Notably, activities akin to those conducted by Clearview AI would be encompassed within this prohibited category.