Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

MEPs push to bring chatbots in line with EU's fundamental rights

MEPs push to bring chatbots in line with EU's fundamental rights

MEPs want chatbots to include safeguards that will prevent them from generating content that is illegal under EU law.
Members of the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted on Thursday morning to advance a draft regulation to ensure the "ethical development" of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a rapidly evolving technology that has raised concerns about disinformation, privacy, surveillance, discrimination, plagiarism, impersonation and even the future of democracy.

With the new EU-wide rules, lawmakers want to guarantee AI systems are "overseen by people, are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly," said a press release.

MEPs "also want to have a uniform definition for AI designed to be technology-neutral, so that it can apply to the AI systems of today and tomorrow."

The vote, which took place in a joint session of the internal market and civil liberties committees, added new provisions to the original text proposed by the European Commission, most notably fresh obligations on so-called generative foundation models, like ChatGPT, the chatbot developed by OpenAI that has revolutionised the tech industry since its launch in late November.

Foundation models are those trained with vast troves of data, such as text, images, music, speech and code, with the goal of fulfilling a wide and ever-changing set of tasks, rather than having a specific, unmodifiable purpose. Chatbots like OpenAI's GPT and Google's BERT are some of the early examples of this technology, which is expected to further evolve in the coming years.

While investors have jumped fast on chatbots, critics have decried their unchecked development, raising the alarm about bias, hate speech, fake news, state propaganda, IP violations, labour redundancies, cyberattacks and the increasingly blurred line between human and artificial.

Mindful of the growing concerns, lawmakers have added amendments to ensure chatbots are transparent, do not produce content that is illegal under EU law, comply with copyright rules and respect fundamental rights like freedom of expression.

"Generative foundation models should ensure transparency about the fact the content is generated by an AI system, not by humans," the new text reads.

MEPs also pushed to broaden the list of "intrusive and discriminatory" AI applications that should be strictly banned across EU territory. The expanded list covers real-time biometric identification in public spaces, predictive policing systems, and emotion recognition in law enforcement and workplaces.

AI systems that have the power to influence voters in political campaigns will not be prohibited but will be considered high-risk and therefore subject to closer scrutiny, lawmakers said.

Thursday's mandate was approved with 84 votes in favour, seven against and 12 abstentions. More than 3,000 amendments were tabled before the session, reflecting the remarkable interest in the technology.

The vote, however, is far from final: MEPs still need to approve their negotiating mandate in a plenary session, which will then be used for discussions with member states. These talks, known in Brussels parlay as "trilogues," are expected to be intense and protected, given the stakes and expectations.

This process will result in a compromise text, which will then be voted on again by the co-legislators before entering into force.

The Artificial Intelligence Act was first proposed by the Commission in April 2021, well before the market explosion of chatbots. The act imposes obligations and restrictions on AI companies according to the risk their products present to society: minimal risk, limited risk, high-risk and unacceptable.

High-risk systems will have to undergo a conformity assessment, be registered in an EU database and bear the CE marking before being put on the market. This will restart with each update.

Chatbots will not be considered high-risk, lawmakers said, despite the beefed-up provisions.

Under the amended text, companies that break the rules could face fines of up to €40 million or 7% of their worldwide annual turnover, whichever is steeper.

The EU regulation's human-centric and all-encompassing approach is considered a pioneering step in the global effort to rein in the excesses of AI, which many see as the most disruptive technology since the advent of the World Wide Web (WWW).
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
×