European Parliament approves measure that still has to receive formal approval from the EU Council
The European Parliament approved this Tuesday the ban on artificial intelligence (AI) systems that generate sexually explicit images, a measure that still has to be formally adopted by the Council of the EU before it can be applied.
The measure was approved in the plenary session of the European Parliament (EP), in Strasbourg, with 423 votes in favor, 57 against and 174 abstentions, and aims to change certain rules currently in force under the European AI law.
The EP said that if it gets a final “green light” from the EU Council, the law will ban “AI systems that generate child sexual abuse material or that create images, videos and audio depicting intimate parts of an identifiable person, or sexually explicit activities, without their consent,” according to a statement.
“Suppliers will not be allowed to place these systems on the EU market unless they have adequate technical safeguards in place to prevent the creation of such material. The prohibition also applies to users who use these systems for these purposes”, indicated the EP.
It added that companies now have until December 2 to update systems and ensure they comply with these new rules on sexual images.
This proposal had already been agreed by the EP and the EU Council, which represents the governments of the 27 Member States.
However, to come into force, the measure will have to be formally adopted by the EU Council.
The proposal came after the European Commission decided, in January, to open an investigation into Grok, an AI tool from the social network X, for disseminating sexually explicit images, including content that could constitute sexual abuse of minors.
According to a report by the Center for Combating Digital Hate (CCDH) and the American newspaper The New York Times, in January, Grok would have flooded that network with around three million sexualized images over 11 days, including 23,000 of children and 1.8 million women.
In addition to banning AI systems that generate sexually explicit images, this change to European law also includes measures to simplify the regulatory framework currently applied to AI.
Thus, the proposal now foresees the possibility, both in general-purpose and high-risk AI systems, “of processing personal data whenever strictly necessary to detect and correct biases, with appropriate safeguards”.
The “overlap of AI requirements applicable to machines, components and accessories” is also eliminated, with the law on AI clarifying that “they only have to comply with sectoral legislation, while ensuring an equivalent level of health and safety”.
