In brief
Hot on the heels of the unanimous vote by Ambassadors for the EU Member States (COREPER) approving the EU AI Act on 2 February (see our article on that vote here), on 13 February, lawmakers from the EU Parliament have also overwhelmingly voted in favor of the Act as it continues on its legislative journey. The joint internal market and civil liberties committee of the Parliament voted 71 to 8 to approve the Act with 7 abstentions. This now leaves the path to bringing the Act into force only requiring a final vote by the European Parliament and national ministers, likely to be in April, which is now seen very much as a rubber-stamping exercise, given the votes that have taken place.
Once passed, the EU AI Act will be the world’s first comprehensive legislation on AI use and development; other major territories such as the UK, US and China are taking different approaches to regulating AI in their jurisdictions, although it is worth noting the extraterritorial effect of the EU AI Act, which will catch the providers of AI systems deployed within the EU, no matter where they are based. As the Act nears coming into force, businesses are advised to carry out risk assessments to understand the impact of the Act on them and their AI systems.
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