On 13 March 2024, the European Parliament officially approved the long-awaited Artificial Intelligence Act (the “AI Act”). It is the first piece of legislation regulating development, marketing, and use of AI in the world. The purpose of the AI Act is to protect fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability from high-risk artificial intelligence, while boosting innovation and technology development and ensuring the free movement of AI-based goods and services throughout the EU single market.

The AI Act reaffirms the leading role of the EU in data, data governance and digitalization. Following a risk-based and horizonal regulatory approach, the AI Act sets forth requirements to and obligations for providers and users of AI-systems depending on the purpose and use of, rather than on the technology in, an AI system. Like the GDPR, the AI Act is a general and cross-sectorial regulation, it supplements existing industry specific regulations, and is directly applicable in Bulgaria and all other EU Members States.

The AI Act will enter into force on the 21st day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU and will come into effect in its entirety 24 months after its entry into force, except for the provisions on prohibited practices which will start applying 6 months, the general-purpose AI rules including governance, which will start applying 12 months, and the obligations for high-risk systems, which will start applying 36 months after the AI Act entry into force, respectively.

DGKV Data Protection and TMT teams have been and will continue closely monitoring the topic and analyzing the scope, provisions and practical implications of the AI Act and we will follow up on the matter soon.

If you need more information, please contact DGKV’s Partner Violetta Kunze at: [email protected] and DGKV’s Counsel Ralitsa Gougleva at: [email protected]