Europe postpones its own rules
Regulation 2026/1744 amended the AI Act: obligations for high-risk systems were deferred to December 2027 and August 2028, while a prohibition on generating intimate imagery without consent was added.
Why it matters
The first general AI law anywhere was rewritten for the first time, and towards softening, eighteen months after entering into force.
Parliament adopted the amendments by 423 votes to 57. Annex III obligations moved to 2 December 2027 and Annex I to 2 August 2028. The argument was that standards were not ready and the burden on smaller companies was too high. At the same time the act was tightened elsewhere: Article 5 gained a prohibition on systems designed to generate realistic intimate imagery and child sexual abuse material, applying from 2 December 2026. That prohibition is a direct consequence of the Grok affair in January.