Is the first AI regulatory bill coming? Comments on the draft of the Artificial Intelligence Act passed by the European Parliament | EU | Artificial Intelligence Act
On June 14th local time, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed the draft Artificial Intelligence Act with 499 votes in favor, 28 votes against, and 93 abstentions. If passed through legislation, or become the world's first bill on artificial intelligence. But European media subsequently commented that it will take several years for it to fully take effect.
According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur on the 14th, the adoption of the draft means that the European Parliament, EU member states and the European Commission will start "tripartite negotiations" to determine the final terms of the bill.
The German "Business Daily" commented on the 15th that the "Artificial Intelligence Act" is expected to receive final approval by the end of this year, but it may take several years before it fully takes effect.
The European Commission hopes to reach an agreement by the end of this year, and the new bill may have an impact on relevant companies in 2026. After the bill is passed, in extreme cases, violating companies may be fined up to 30 million euros, or 6% of the company's global annual revenue, which means that for large technology companies such as Google and Microsoft, their fines may reach billions of euros.
In 2021, the European Commission proposed the world's first draft law to regulate artificial intelligence, and since then, the European Parliament and the European Council have conducted multiple rounds of revisions and discussions on the draft. After the emergence of generative artificial intelligence applications such as ChatGPT, EU legislators urgently discussed issues not covered in the original draft.
According to the draft, the EU should categorize artificial intelligence systems into different risk groups. The more dangerous an application is, the stricter the applicable rules will be. At the same time, the EU should also establish comprehensive artificial intelligence bans, such as banning interactive dialogue tools that encourage dangerous behavior, and predictive police tools used to predict who will commit crimes. It is worth noting that in the latest draft displayed on the official website of the European Parliament, real-time remote biometric technology has been adjusted from a "high-risk" level to a "prohibited" level, which means that in the future, companies cannot use AI technology for facial recognition in public places in EU countries.
Regarding the EU's legislation to strengthen regulation, Time magazine commented that the EU is not an important participant in cutting-edge artificial intelligence development, and this role is played by the United States and China. However, the EU often plays a role in guiding the tide, and its regulations often become de facto global standards and have become pioneers in targeting the power of large technology companies.