EU moves to shut down AI apps that “undress” people
The Council of the European Union has agreed to the proposals of the European Commission to prohibit artificial intelligence (AI) from “undressing” EU citizens or creating child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
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The Council of the European Union has agreed to the proposals of the European Commission to prohibit artificial intelligence (AI) from “undressing” EU citizens or creating child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The proposals are part of the Digital Omnibus, which aims to simplify and harmonize the existing rules in AI, cybersecurity, and data protection in the European Union.
This includes streamlining the EU’s legislative framework and implementing rules on AI set out in the AI Act.
The European Commission has proposed to adjust the timeline for applying rules on high-risk AI systems by 16 months. The new application dates will be December 2nd, 2027, for stand-alone high-risk AI systems and August 2nd, 2028, for high-risk AI systems embedded in products.
The executive branch of the EU also proposed amendments to the AI Act that would exempt more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from certain regulations.
The Council of the European Union says that it has added a new provision to the AI Act “prohibiting AI practices regarding the generation of non-consensual sexual and intimate content or child sexual abuse material.”
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The Council's proposal also “reinstates the standard of strict necessity for the processing of special categories of personal data for the purpose of ensuring bias detection and correction.”
Furthermore, providers are required to register AI systems in the EU database for high-risk systems. Lastly, the proposals clarify the competences of the AI Office by listing exceptions where national authorities remain competent.
“Streamlining the AI rules is essential for ensuring the EU’s digital sovereignty. As presidency, we worked on this proposal with urgency, reaching a swift agreement to facilitate the timely application of the AI Act,” Marilena Raouna, Deputy Minister for European affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, says in a statement.
Europe’s efforts to ban the nudification features of AI come after users ordered Grok to “undress” women in December and January. X owner Elon Musk posted an apology and promised to take action against illegal content on X.
Despite Musk’s apologies, the European Commission and other EU countries announced that it would launch a formal investigation into the matter.
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