EU Commission's proposed plans to regulate AI

According to a leaked White Paper published by Euractiv on 17 January 2020, the European Commission is planning to propose a new set of measures to tackle the multitude of issues due to arise when developing and using AI.The possible regulatory options consist of five options, however the Commission recognises that the end result may be a combination of several of them.

The proposed options include the following:

(1) voluntary labelling;

(2) sectorial requirements for public administration and facial recognition;

(3) mandatory risk-based requirements for high-risk applications;

(4) amend existing EU safety and liability legislation to address the new risks; and

(5) governance for an effective system of enforcement.

As mentioned, the final approach may be a combination of options 3, 4 and 5 as the Commission is of the view that this mix is the most promising in addressing the risks of AI. The document also mentions that the European Commission is considering a regulatory framework on facial recognition in public spaces. Specifically, this refers to a time limited-ban (3-5 years) in which the specific methodology can be developed. I understand that more information on the Commission's plans regarding AI are expected to be made available in the coming weeks. 

Commission considers facial recognition ban in AI ‘white paper’

The content above was originally posted on CMS DigitalBytes - CMS lawyers sharing comment and commentary on all things tech.