On October 13, 2022, the European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”) released its Opinion 20/2022 on a Recommendation issued by the European Commission in August 2022 calling for a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations on behalf of the European Union for a Council of Europe convention on artificial intelligence, human rights, democracy and the
President Biden Signs Executive Order to Implement EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework
On October 7, 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order directing the steps that the United States will take to implement its commitments under the new EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The framework was announced by the U.S. and the EU Commission in March 2022, after reaching a political agreement in principle (see our blog post
European Commission Publishes Directive on the Liability of Artificial Intelligence Systems
On September 28, 2022, the European Commission published its long-promised proposal for an AI Liability Directive. The draft Directive is intended to complement the EU AI Act, which the EU’s institutions are still negotiating. In parallel, the European Commission also published its proposal to update the EU’s 1985 Product Liability Directive. If adopted, the proposals will change the liability rules for software and AI systems in the EU.
The draft AI Liability Directive establishes rules applicable to non-contractual, fault-based civil claims involving AI systems. Specifically, the proposal establishes rules that would govern the preservation and disclosure of evidence in cases involving high-risk AI, as well as rules on the burden of proof and corresponding rebuttable presumptions. If adopted as proposed, the draft AI Liability Directive will apply to damages that occur two years or more after the Directive enters into force; five years after its entry into force, the Commission will consider the need for rules on no-fault liability for AI claims.
As for the draft Directive on Liability of Defective Products, if adopted, EU Member States will have one year from its entry into force to implement it in their national laws. The draft Directive would apply to products placed on the market one year after it enters into force.
European Commission publishes its Proposal for a European Media Freedom Act
On September 16, 2022, the European Commission published its Proposal for a European Media Freedom Act (“Proposed MFA”). The Proposed MFA is broadly designed to protect media pluralism and independence in the EU. It does so by setting a common set of rules “for all EU media players,” in particular, providers of “media services.” The Proposed MFA also imposes new obligations on providers of “very large online platforms” (“VLOPs”) as defined in the EU’s Digital Services Act (“DSA”).
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Nearing the Finish Line: Updates on the Digital Services Act
The Digital Services Act (“DSA”) is nearing final approval. The DSA imposes new rules on providers of intermediary services (e.g., cloud services, file-sharing services, search engines, social networks and online marketplaces). As we reported in July, the European Parliament voted to adopt the DSA on 5 July 2022. As we wait for the Council to adopt it, there have been a couple of updates in recent weeks, which we set out below. We will keep this blog updated as the finish line approaches.
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UK Government Sets Out Sector-Specific Vision for Regulating AI
The UK Government recently published its AI Governance and Regulation: Policy Statement (the “AI Statement”) setting out its proposed approach to regulating Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in the UK. The AI Statement was published alongside the draft Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (see our blog post here for further details on the Bill) and is
UK and U.S. Governments set a date for the entry into force of the UK-U.S. CLOUD Act Agreement
In October 2019, the UK and U.S. Governments signed an agreement on cross-border law enforcement demands for data from Communication Service Providers (the “Agreement”, which we described in our earlier post here). Only now, however, have the two countries completed the procedural steps required to bring the Agreement into force. On July 21, 2022
Online Safety Bill to Proceed Through Parliament
On May 10, 2022, Prince Charles announced in the Queen’s Speech that the UK Government’s proposed Online Safety Bill (the “OSB”) will proceed through Parliament. The OSB is currently at committee stage in the House of Commons. Since it was first announced in December 2020, the OSB has been the subject of intense debate and scrutiny on the balance it seeks to strike between online safety and protecting children on the one hand, and freedom of expression and privacy on the other.
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European Parliament Votes in Favor of Banning the Use of Facial Recognition in Law Enforcement
On 6 October 2021, the European Parliament (“EP”) voted in favor of a resolution banning the use of facial recognition technology (“FRT”) by law enforcement in public spaces. The resolution forms part of a non-legislative report on the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) by the police and judicial authorities in criminal matters (“AI Report”) published by the EP’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (“LIBE”) in July 2021. The AI Report will now be sent to the European Commission, which has three months to either (i) submit, or indicate it will submit, a legislative proposal on the use of AI by the police and judicial authorities as set out in the AI Report; or (ii) if it chooses not to submit a proposal, explain why.
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The UK Government Publishes its AI Strategy
On 22 September 2021, the UK Government published its 10-year strategy on artificial intelligence (“AI”; the “UK AI Strategy”).
The UK AI Strategy has three main pillars: (1) investing and planning for the long-term requirements of the UK’s AI ecosystem; (2) supporting the transition to an AI-enabled economy across all sectors and regions of the UK; and (3) ensuring that the UK gets the national and international governance of AI technologies “right”.
The approach to AI regulation as set out in the UK AI Strategy is largely pro-innovation, in line with the UK Government’s Plan for Digital Regulation published in July 2021.
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