EU, the European Parliament approves the Ai Act and the Media Freedom Act

Eurocamera's green light for the Ai Act, i.e. the set of European rules on Artificial Intelligence. The approval of the text in plenary came by a large majority: 523 votes in favour, 46 against and 49 abstentions. The EU is the first in the world to adopt rules on artificial intelligence. At the same time, the green light was also given to the Media Freedom Act, the European media freedom law designed to protect journalists and media in the EU from political or economic interference. The new regulation, approved by 464 votes to 92 with 65 abstentions, will oblige member states to protect the independence of the media and prohibit any form of interference in editorial decisions. The text also provides for severe restrictions on the use of spyware, which will, however, only be permitted on a case-by-case basis and after authorisation by a judicial authority in the investigation of serious crimes.

Let us start with the Ai Act: we are talking about the most comprehensive regulatory system on artificial intelligence so far enacted, a historic 'package' of norms that, in the absence of specific US legislation, could set the tone for how Ai should be governed in the Western world. The 'could' and 'should', however, are at least as big as the Espace Léopold building in Brussels, because the passage of the law comes between the businesses that fear too many constraints and the digital gatekeepers that fear too few. In any case, 'Europe is now a reliable world standard for Ai,' emphasises Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. The Ai Act becomes law after signature by the member states, which is usually a formality, and after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

The new law aims to address concerns about bias, privacy and other risks arising from the rapid development of this technology. The legislation would ban the use of emotion-detecting Ai in workplaces and schools and restrict its use in high-risk situations, such as job application screening. In addition, the law would place the first restrictions on generative Ai tools, following the uproar that followed the launch of ChatGPT.

However, the bill has raised quite a few concerns in the past months. When the talks reached their final stage, the French and German governments opposed some of the stricter ideas for regulating generative AI, arguing that the rules will harm European start-ups such as France's Mistral AI and Germany's Aleph Alpha GmbH.

As for the Media Freedom Act, to prevent public media from being instrumentalised for political purposes, their managers and board members should be selected on the basis of transparent and non-discriminatory procedures. Funding for public media will also have to be sustainable and predictable and follow transparent and objective procedures, and in order to allow the public to know who controls individual media and what interests may lie behind the ownership, all newspapers, from the largest to the smallest, will be required to publish information on their owners.