Digital rights groups urge EU to implement AI Act according to schedule

A group of 31 digital rights organizations have urged the European Commission to ensure that the AI Act is implemented according to schedule.

The open letter, released on Tuesday, comes after many of the 27 EU member states missed the deadline to enact the rulebook by designating a national regulator. The organizations specifically highlighted Hungary, which went further by introducing a new law allowing the use of facial recognition to monitor Pride events, an application that is prohibited by the AI Act, according to legal experts.

The Commission’s lack of responsiveness has been fueling hesitation among national governments to introduce the AI rulebook, says the group, which gathers European Digital Rights (EDRi), Algorithm Watch, AccessNow the European Center for Non-Profit Law (ECNL).

“Every further delay risks undermining both the protection of people’s rights under the AI Act and the credibility of the EU as a proponent of rights-respecting AI regulation,” the group says in an open letter addressed to Henna Virkkunen, the Comission’s executive vice-president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.

The expiring deadline for designating national competent authorities could be yet another bad sign for the AI Act’s implementation schedule. Both private sector stakeholders and lawmakers have been calling to “stop the clock,” i.e., pause the Act’s implementation in order to “address the uncertainty” brought by the complex regulation.

Last week, former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi joined the chorus of EU lawmakers calling for the postponement.

But the messaging from the Commission itself has been less than clear.

In June, Virkkunen stated that postponing some parts of the AI Act is not excluded. On Monday, however, a Commission official said that “stop the clock” is not being considered.

“There is not going to be an overall moratorium on the AI Act. That is not on the table. We are focusing on making the rules work in practice,” says Yvo Volman, director for data at the Commission, told the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE).

The Commission is also not considering a complete overhaul of the AI Act through the EU’s Digital Omnibus consultation, aimed at simplifying data, AI and cybersecurity compliance, says Volman.  The simplification package is set to come out in December, Euronews reports.

Article Topics

AI  |  AI Act  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  European Digital Rights (EDRi)  |  facial recognition  |  regulation