InfoCons Informs You : New Rules for Artificial Intelligence – How the European AI Regulation Protects You
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly present in our daily lives: from virtual assistants and chatbots to applications that recommend products or assess our credit applications. To ensure that Europeans can trust this technology, the European Union has adopted the AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) – the world’s first comprehensive legal framework dedicated to artificial intelligence.
The objective is simple: to ensure AI is safe, fair, and trustworthy, while respecting people’s fundamental rights.
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Why Do We Need Rules for AI?
Most AI systems we use every day present little or no risk and can be highly beneficial. However, some applications may create serious concerns.
In many cases, it is difficult to understand exactly why an AI system made a particular decision. This makes it challenging to verify whether a person has been treated unfairly—for example, when a job application or a loan request is automatically rejected. Existing legislation offered some protection, but it was not sufficient to address the new challenges brought by AI technologies.
Four Levels of Risk
The Regulation classifies AI systems into four categories, depending on the level of risk they may pose to people.
1. Unacceptable Risk – Prohibited
AI systems that pose a clear threat to people’s safety, rights, and freedoms are prohibited within the European Union. Prohibited practices include:
- Manipulating or deceiving individuals through AI;
- Exploiting the vulnerabilities of specific groups of people (for example, based on age or disability);
- Social scoring systems that classify citizens according to their behavior;
- Emotion recognition systems used in workplaces or educational institutions;
- Creating facial recognition databases through the indiscriminate collection of images from the internet or surveillance cameras.
These prohibitions have been applicable since February 2025.
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2. High Risk – Strict Requirements
This category includes applications that can significantly affect people’s health, safety, or fundamental rights. Examples include AI systems used in:
- Critical infrastructure (such as transportation);
- Education (for example, automated exam grading);
- Recruitment (software that screens and selects CVs);
- Access to essential services (such as creditworthiness assessments);
- Healthcare, justice, and border control.
Before entering the market, these systems must comply with strict requirements, including risk assessment and mitigation, high-quality data to prevent discrimination, clear documentation, human oversight, and a high level of accuracy and cybersecurity.
3. Transparency Risk – You Must Know When You Are Interacting with a Machine
This is the aspect that most directly concerns users.
Whenever you interact with an AI system, you must be informed that AI is involved. For example:
- When chatting with a chatbot, you must know that you are not speaking with a real person;
- AI-generated content must be identifiable as such;
- Deepfakes and AI-generated texts relating to matters of public interest must be clearly and visibly labelled.
These transparency requirements will apply from August 2026 and will help you recognize when information has been created or modified by artificial intelligence.
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4. Minimal or No Risk – No New Requirements
The vast majority of AI applications currently used in the EU fall into this category, including AI-powered video games and spam filters. For these systems, the Regulation does not introduce any additional obligations.
Rules for General-Purpose AI Models
The Regulation also covers AI models capable of performing a wide range of tasks and serving as the foundation for numerous applications (so-called general-purpose AI models).
For these models, the Regulation introduces transparency and copyright-related obligations. The most powerful models must also assess and mitigate potential risks. These provisions have applied since August 2025.
What Does This Mean for You as a Consumer?
In short, the AI Act provides greater safety and transparency. It prohibits dangerous practices, imposes strict controls where risks are significant, and guarantees your right to know when you are interacting with a machine or consuming AI-generated content.
As a result, you can make more informed decisions and benefit from stronger protection against deception and manipulation.
Stay Informed! Take Action!
Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important part of our everyday lives. With InfoCons, you can learn how the new European rules protect you and safeguard your right to accurate and transparent information.
Source: European Commission
Signature: InfoCons Communication Department
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