First AI Act provisions take effect, prohibited practices guidance published

06/02/2025 | European Commission

On Tuesday, 4 February 2025, the European Commission published its long-awaited guidelines outlining the prohibited artificial intelligence (AI) practices under Article 5 of the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) considered unacceptable due to their potential risks to European values and fundamental rights. Under the guidelines, which are non-binding, organisations are banned from using AI for practices such as harmful manipulation, social scoring, and real-time remote biometric identification. 

The rules around prohibited AI practices and AI literacy came into effect on 2 February despite no immediate guidelines on either. While the prohibited AI practices guidelines provide much-needed direction for stakeholders, no official guidance on AI literacy exists. However, the Commission will host an AI Pact webinar on AI literacy on 20 February.

On Thursday, the Commission published guidelines on AI system definitions explaining the practical application of the legal concept under the AI Act. The guidelines are designed to assist organisations to determine whether a particular piece of software meets the criteria of an AI system. 

In related news, an article by IAPP contributors looks at the key differences between EU and Chinese AI laws and what it means for compliance.

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Artificial Intelligence Regulation, AI, Chatbots

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