The European Union (EU) will deny calls from high-tech giants such as Google and Facebook-Parent Meta, delaying the region's groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) laws, and the Commission will continue to implement it as previously planned. This means that authorities will firmly reject recent pleas from major tech companies and some countries to postpone the implementation of the AI Act, news agency Reuters reported.
“There is no suspension,” says a European Commission spokesperson.
Companies including Google's parentalphabet, META, and European companies like Mistral and ASML have recently cited the committee to delay the AI Act for several years, citing concerns about compliance. But committee spokesman Thomas Legnier was clear at the press conference.“We've certainly seen a lot of reports, lots of letters and lots of things being said about AI Act. Let's be as clear as possible. There's no clock. There's no bounty period. There's no pause.He emphasized that legal deadlines are fixed within the law.“The regulations will commence in February, the obligations for the general-purpose AI model will begin in August, and the obligations for the high-risk model will begin next year, August 2026,” he revealed.
The EU suggests simplification ahead, but says the rules remain
While some companies have expressed concern about the costs and strict requirements of AI regulations aimed at setting up critical guardrails for technologies currently controlled by the US and China, the committee remains unshakable. The committee plans to propose steps to simplify broader digital rules later this year, potentially reducing reporting obligations for small businesses, which will not affect the AI Act timeline.The AI Act is designed to be the centre of many economic sectors and regulate technology to ensure responsible development and deployment across the EU.
