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EU AI Act
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (Artificial Intelligence Act), as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (AI Omnibus)
Confirmed by two sources. Last verified 10 October 2026
Next full re-check due: . Regulator news is checked monthly; changes are logged in the change log.
Cite this page: GlanceDesk Jurisdiction, “EU AI Act (European Union)”, glancedeskjurisdiction.com/laws/eu-ai-act, last verified 10 October 2026.
European Union AI
- Status
- In force since 1 Aug 2024, applying in stages. The AI Omnibus (in force 27 Jul 2026) moved stand-alone high-risk rules to 2 Dec 2027 and product-embedded high-risk rules to 2 Aug 2028.✓
- Who it applies to
- Providers placing AI systems on the EU market, deployers using AI in the EU, and providers or deployers outside the EU whose AI output is used in the EU.✓
- Size thresholds
- None for prohibitions and transparency duties. Obligations depend on the AI system's risk level and your role (provider, deployer, importer, distributor).✓
- Regulator
- European AI Office (general-purpose AI models and some AI in very large platforms) and national market surveillance authorities✓
- Breach or incident reporting
- Now: providers of general-purpose AI models with systemic risk must report serious incidents to the AI Office without undue delay (Art 55). From 2 Dec 2027 (Annex III) / 2 Aug 2028 (Annex I): high-risk providers report serious incidents to the market surveillance authority within 15 days; 10 days if a death; 2 days for widespread infringements or serious critical-infrastructure disruption (Art 73).✓
- Data protection officer
- N/A (AI literacy measures required under Art. 4, as amended by the AI Omnibus)✓
- Local representative
- Non-EU providers of high-risk AI systems and of general-purpose AI models must appoint an EU authorised representative by written mandate (open-source GPAI models without systemic risk are exempt).✓
- Maximum penalty
- Up to EUR 35m or 7% of worldwide turnover for prohibited practices; EUR 15m or 3% for other obligations incl. high-risk and transparency; EUR 7.5m or 1% for misleading info (whichever higher; SMEs pay the lower).✓
Facts marked “Being verified” are still being confirmed and are not given as answers.
What you must do✓
- Stop any prohibited AI practice (banned since 2 Feb 2025); new bans on AI nudification and child-abuse imagery apply from 2 Dec 2026.
- Tell people when they interact with an AI system; mark AI-generated content (Art. 50, from 2 Aug 2026; marking grace to 2 Dec 2026 for systems already on the market).
- Check whether each AI system is high-risk; if you rely on the Art 6(3) exception for an Annex III system, document the assessment (Art 6(4)) and register the system in the EU database before market (Art 49(2), simplified procedure).
- High-risk providers: risk management, data governance, logging, human oversight, conformity assessment by 2 Dec 2027 (Annex III) or 2 Aug 2028 (product-embedded).
- General-purpose AI model providers: technical documentation, copyright policy and a training-content summary (since 2 Aug 2025).
Recent changes
AI Omnibus (Reg. 2026/1744) in force 27 Jul 2026: high-risk deadlines deferred; transparency duties kept at 2 Aug 2026 with a marking grace period to 2 Dec 2026 for systems already on the market; two new prohibited practices added (from 2 Dec 2026).✓
Sources
- Primary source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2026/1744/oj/eng
- Second source: https://labs.cloudsecurityalliance.org/research/csa-research-note-eu-ai-act-article50-watermarking-deadline/
- Regulator: European AI Office (general-purpose AI models and some AI in very large platforms) and national market surveillance authorities
Sources used for the independent check (20)
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-113
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2026/1744/oj/eng
- https://www.hunton.com/privacy-and-cybersecurity-law-blog/eu-digital-omnibus-on-ai-enters-into-force
- https://cdp.cooley.com/digital-ai-omnibus-delays-key-deadlines-introduces-new-rules/
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-2
- https://www.stephensonharwood.com/insights/the-role-of-the-authorised-representative-under-the-eu-ai-act/
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-6
- https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/ai-office
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202601744
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-73
- https://www.lw.com/en/insights/european-commission-publishes-draft-guidance-reporting-serious-ai-incidents
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-4
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-22
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-54
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-99
- https://www.springlex.eu/en/packages/ai-act/ai-act-regulation/article-99/
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-50
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-53
- https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-55
- https://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/eu-ai-omnibus-enters-force-amending-ai-act
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