EU Parliament Forms AI Act Monitoring Group

The European Parliament is preparing to establish a monitoring group to oversee the implementation of the AI Act, which comes into force in August 2024. Leading EU lawmakers, including center-left MEP Brando Benifei, have raised concerns about the European Commission’s approach to key tasks, particularly transparency provisions such as watermarking and copyright protection. The Parliament’s committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) will discuss the matter next week.

The AI Act’s implementation will be managed by national regulatory authorities, with the Commission’s AI Office playing a key coordinating role. Benifei emphasized the need for the AI Office to operationalize fundamental rights impact assessments with clear templates to mitigate risks to citizens’ fundamental rights. There are concerns about the Commission’s hiring strategy for the new AI Office, which has reportedly included former Renew MEP Dragoș Tudorache.

MEPs have urged the Commission to involve civil society in developing codes of practice for general-purpose AI, rather than allowing companies to draft these codes. Single Market Commissioner Thierry Breton reassured that civil society and independent experts will be fully involved in the drafting process. The involvement of Big Tech should be limited to stakeholder contributions, not leading roles in drafting the codes.

Benifei stressed the importance of harmonized standards for the AI Act to be effective. He called for a robust AI Office that collaborates efficiently with national authorities and ensures supervision by the European Parliament. The goal is to implement digital regulations effectively and curb the influence of large companies by having independent experts chair working groups within the AI Office.

Source: Parliament mulls monitoring group for AI Act implementation