EU Artificial Intelligence Act: Key Considerations for Data Protection Officers
Andersen professionals from the European IP, IT and Data Protection department published an insight in light of the inclusion within the Official Journal of the European Union last July 12 of the much-discussed AI Act, which is expected to come into force in August 2024.
Paraphrasing the words of European Commission officials, we are faced with the first case in which the need to regulate the use of technology emerges.
AI Act and data protection
The complex text of the proposed European Union regulation on Artificial Intelligence clearly reflects the challenges of regulating a developing technology with potential that has not yet been fully discovered or exploited. With the expectation that the AI Act will soon become an official legal text, practitioners are about to study the opportunities and challenges brought by the entry into force of the regulation.
The relationship between Artificial Intelligence and the safeguarding of personal data is undoubtedly a much-debated topic in the recent period. Article 2, as well as Articles 10, 27, and 45 make it clear that both European and national legislation on the protection of personal data and confidentiality of communications will remain in force.
However, the Artificial Intelligence Act goes a step further and introduces a number of new obligations aimed at safeguarding the processing of any personal data. The data protection officer (DPO) working within any entity that processes personal data will need to ensure compliance with these obligations.
In the document at this link, you will find the main guidelines that the Union has established for Data Protection Officer figures. In light of what we read in the text, it can be assumed that the goal of the new legislation is particularly challenging: to achieve a delicate balance between protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals and, on the other hand, stimulating innovation and investment in the European Union in such an important and complex field as AI.
- Read the full insight