Global AI Governance Law and Policy: EU

This article is part of a series on global AI governance law and policy.

The EU has been a global first mover in adopting comprehensive digital legislation, for example, with the General Data Protection Regulation in 2016 and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act in 2024. While the GDPR arguably set a global privacy standard, creating what has been deemed the “Brussels Effect” and spurring comparable privacy laws in places like the U.K., Brazil, and many U.S. states, the AI Act is less certain to guide the global approach to regulating AI in light of the many different regulatory models emerging. Even acknowledging the heterogeneous AI governance global landscape, the AI Act remains hugely impactful.

History and context

The EU was the first jurisdiction globally to adopt a comprehensive legal regime governing the development and use of artificial intelligence. The AI Act entered into force 1 Aug. 2024 with a phased application and is the result of years of preparatory work.

The process of making this regulation a reality started in 2018 as the European Commission set out its vision for AI around three pillars: investment, socioeconomic changes and an appropriate ethical and legal framework to strengthen European values. These pillars still support the overall EU AI strategy across Europe internally and globally as Brussels ascertains its approach to shaping ethical and safe AI innovations.