by Laura Fannin , Denise O’Shaughnessy May-24-2024 in Advertising and Marketing Law, Commercial & Business, Data Protection, Product Liability
On 21 May 2024, the Council of the European Union approved the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (“AI Act”). This final approval follows the European Parliament’s endorsement in March.
You can read our prior commentary here.
The AI Act will likely now be published in the EU Official Journal in the coming days. The AI Act will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal, which will likely be in June of this year.
There are several staggered deadlines that will govern when certain provisions of the AI Act take effect. In general, however, the AI Act provides for a 24-month implementation period during which the delegated guidance, standards and codes will be made available to assist those impacted in complying with the AI Act. The AI Act adopts a risk-based approach to AI regulation, categorising AI systems into different risk levels. AI systems that fall into the prohibited risk category will be banned six months after enactment of the AI Act, which will most likely be by the end of 2024. Prohibited AI systems are those that violate fundamental rights, such as social scoring or emotion recognition in the workplace. The vast majority of the provisions or obligations referenced in the AI Act are otherwise enforceable 24 months after enactment.
While waiting for the AI Act to become fully applicable, organisations using or planning to use AI systems should start considering their use and assessing their compliance with the AI Act. Organisations should review agreements with their AI providers, introduce an AI policy, particularly relative to generative AI, train their staff appropriately, document all relevant considerations and maintain adequate records surrounding the introduction and use of AI in their organisation.
If you have any queries about the implementation of the AI Act or are considering putting an AI policy in place, please contact Laura Fannin or Denise O’Shaughnessy.
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About the Authors
Laura Fannin
Laura is a partner in the Commercial & Business team at Hayes solicitors. Laura advises clients on a diverse range of corporate and commercial matters and regulatory requirements. She is an experienced adviser on terms and conditions of sale and purchase, IT issues, data protection, product liability, advertising and promotions, intellectual property and a wide range of commercial agreements.
Denise O’Shaughnessy
Denise is an associate solicitor in the Technology and Data Protection team. She advises clients on all data protection and privacy matters, including data sharing agreements, data processing agreements, online terms and conditions, privacy policies, cookies policies and data protection policies. She also advises clients on data subject access requests, data protection impact assessments, e-privacy and direct marketing.