EU Ombudswoman opens AI standards inquiry

European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho has launched an inquiry into how the European Commission ensures transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability in the adoption of harmonised standards for artificial intelligence (AI).

The inquiry follows a complaint from a civil society organisation, which raised concerns that standardisation bodies do not currently publicly disclose information about the individuals working on new standards or the minutes of their meetings. The complainant argued that the Commission failed to ensure a balanced representation of interests in the process.

Harmonised standards enable companies to demonstrate that their AI products comply with relevant EU legislation, thereby facilitating access to the EU market. As a first step, the Ombudswoman has requested that the Commission answer a series of questions regarding the composition of the standards group, the transparency rules applied, and how the Commission manages and monitors the entire standardisation process.

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