Towards the Effective Extraterritorial Enforcement of the AI Act
Theme:
Scientific Track
Tag:
Research and Innovation
What:
Panel
When:
11:30 AM, Monday 10 Jun 2024
(30 minutes)
Where:
Ca' Foscari University of Venice
- Sala Archivio
How:
Most of the global initiatives in the field of artificial intelligence are designed as globally-minded soft regulation. “Soft” law or the Brussels Effect can complement but will not be able to replace “hard” law. In the case of AI, a technology that has the potential to revolutionise our society, what will make the difference is the enforceability of the law. In the EU’s AI Act, the EU co-legislators make a wise choice to depart from the one-stop-shop model in the shape known from the GDPR, particularly by establishing a new function of the Commission - the AI Office. This move is aimed at strengthening harmonisation and facilitating its enforcement against General-Purpose AI models and systems. However, they did not address yet another elephant in the room - the extraterritorial enforcement of EU digital laws. Effective extraterritorial enforcement is crucial for the success of the EU’s model of regulating AI and Europe’s role in the globalised world. Lack of sufficient enforcement would question the legitimacy of the EU in this area and, ultimately – the credibility of the regulatory model adopted by the Union. In this context, this paper analyses the experience that we have so far with the extraterritorial enforcement of the GDPR, which, similarly to the AI Act, bases its territorial scope on the moderate destination approach. It concludes that there is an urgent need for a discussion about extraterritorial enforcement of the AI Act.
