Overview
- The European Commission began enforcing key parts of the AI Act on August 2, 2026, requiring chatbots and interactive systems to disclose they are AI and obliging AI-generated images, audio, video and some text to carry visible labels plus machine-readable marks.
- Regulators can now inspect general-purpose AI (GPAI) models, demand technical documentation and training-data summaries, question company staff and order corrective actions when systems break the law.
- Article 50’s transparency rules carry fines up to €15 million or 3% of global turnover and breaches of banned practices can lead to penalties of up to €35 million or 7% of turnover.
- The Commission set up enforcement support including a 60-member Scientific Panel and a Lead Scientific Adviser, complaint and whistleblower channels, and made clear recent incidents involving Anthropic and OpenAI have sharpened emphasis on cyber and loss-of-control risks.
- Major parts of the law remain phased in: bans on non-consensual sexually explicit and child sexual abuse AI take effect December 2, 2026, stricter high-risk obligations start December 2, 2027, and rules for AI in regulated products begin August 2, 2028.