Council of the European Union announced on 21 May it has given final green light to AI Act: Artificial intelligence (AI) act: Council gives final green light to the first worldwide rules on AI.

The criticism continues.

EDRi wrote in April: EU’s AI Act fails to set gold standard for human rights.

Read the European Civic Forum’s critique of the AI Act in their Civic Space Report 2024 (announcement, May 2024), see the report, page 45:

Hailed as the first legally-binding proposal to regulate AI in the world, the EU AI Act was finalised in December 2023. However, the AI Act is a missed opportunity to protect civil society, human rights defenders and civic space. While the final text includes limitations and prohibitions on harmful systems such as biometrics for identification, recognition and categorisation, the act has major gaps that weaken its ability to protect human rights, the rule of law and democracy. The act allows police to deploy real-time face recognition for tasks like locating missing persons, preventing terrorism, and identifying serious crime suspects. These broad exceptions jeopardise the safeguards and could lead to violations of the right to peaceful assembly and expression. [77] For instance, it could empower authorities to identify, harass, or detain protesters, undermining their fundamental rights. Similarly, high-risk systems maybe be used by law enforcement and intelligence authorities to undermine democratic principles and processes, particularly in countries where civic space, fundamental rights and the rule of law are already under strain.

Worryingly, the act also includes fewer protections for specific groups, particularly migrants. For example, while emotion recognition systems will be banned in workplaces and educational settings, after pressure from member states, the use of such high-risk systems would not be prohibited in policing, border control, and migration contexts. The act also includes major exemptions for law enforcement and security authorities to use high-risk AI systems. [78] The new Pact on Migration and Asylum adopted in April 2024 further expands digital surveillance of migrants [79] and criminalisation of migrants’ rights defenders. [80] During a political agreement reached on the EU directive on violence against women, member states failed to protect undocumented women who report sexual violence, after a provision that would ban police from sharing victims’ data with immigration authorities was removed. [81]

[77] https://civic-forum.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AI_Act_RoL_Analysis-0424.pdf
[78] https://civic-forum.eu/statement/after-the-trilogues-the-eu-ai-act-falls-short-of-needed-guarantees-to-people
[79] https://www.equinox-eu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Migration-PactProtectNotSurveil.pdf
[80] More than 160 Civil Society Organisations call on MEPs to vote down harmful EU Migration Pact – PICUM
[81] https://picum.org/blog/new-eu-directive-on-violence-against-women-leaves-outmigrant-women/; https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/ngos-warn-eugender-justice-bill-leaves-most-vulnerable-behind

Addition 19 July 2024
In German the AI Act is referred to as ‘KI-Verordnung’ or KI-VO, see the page on the AI Act by the BfDI. KI = künstlichen Intelligenz (artificial intelligence). The Konferenz der unabhängigen Datenschutzaufsichtsbehörden des Bundes und der Länder (DSK) in May 2024 published the position paper Nationale Zuständigkeiten für die Verordnung zur Künstlichen Intelligenz (KI‐VO).

Addition 26 November 2024
eucrim article on the AI Act, mentioning:

It should be noted, however, that exceptions have been made for high-risk AI systems and GPAI models that have already been placed on the market. With regard to high-risk AI systems that will have been placed on the market or put into service in the EU prior to August 2026, the AI Act will only apply in the event of “significant changes” to their design after that date. Similarly, with respect to GPAI models that will have been placed on the market in the EU prior to August 2025, the AI Act’s rules will not apply to them until August 2027.