European Parliament Approves Landmark AI Regulations With Strict Bans
European lawmakers adopt their negotiating position on the AI Act, voting to ban biometric surveillance, emotion recognition, and social scoring systems while classifying election-influencing AI as high-risk.
European Parliament members adopt their negotiating position on the Artificial Intelligence Act with an overwhelming majority, paving the way for the first-ever comprehensive AI regulations. The proposed rules aim to ensure that all AI developed and used in Europe aligns with fundamental rights, safety, and democratic values including privacy, transparency, and human oversight.
The legislation takes a risk-based approach by strictly prohibiting AI systems that pose an unacceptable threat to public safety and human rights. Lawmakers explicitly ban real-time biometric identification in public spaces, predictive policing algorithms, emotion recognition tools in workplaces and schools, and social scoring systems that classify individuals based on behavior or personal characteristics.
Additionally, the rules impose strict obligations on generative AI models like ChatGPT, requiring them to clearly disclose that their content is artificially generated. The Parliament also classifies AI systems designed to influence voters in elections as high-risk, ensuring these technologies face rigorous scrutiny before deployment.