Dear Prime Minister De Croo,

Responding to the outcome of bloc’s landmark Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act after a tense debate between European Union member states, the European Commission and the European Parliament, Mher Hakobyan, Advocacy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence said: 

On 8 December 2023, 70 civil society groups and 34 expert individuals sent an urgent letter to the Council of EU Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament to urge them “Do not trade away our rights!” in the final trilogue (negotiation) on the landmark Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act.

In a joint civil society organisations letter ahead of the E.U. Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) trilogue negotiation on 6 December, Amnesty International urges the Representatives of the Council of the European Union to effectively regulate the use of AI systems by law enforcement, migration control and national security authorities throughout Europe.

Responding to news that France, Germany and Italy, are putting adoption of the landmark AI Act at risk due to their opposition to regulate foundation models, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnes Callamard said: 

As the EU AI Act negotiations continue, a number of controversial issues remain open. At stake are vital issues including the extent to which general purpose/foundation models are regulated, but also crucially, how far does the AI Act effectively prevent harm from the use of AI for law enforcement, migration, and national security purposes.

For the attention of Brando Benifei MEP and Dragoş Tudorache MEP,

A new investigation into the global surveillance crisis by the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) media network, with technical assistance from Amnesty International’s Security Lab, today begins to reveal the shocking truth about how far the industry’s tentacles have spread and how ineffective EU regulation has been in controlling it. 

The European Union’s bodies are currently engaging in the final stage of negotiations on the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). As representatives of civil society organizations committed to upholding and monitoring the rule of law and democracy in the European Union, we call on legislators to ensure that the AI Act is fully coherent with rule of law standards, including transparency, accountability, and access to justice. Given the current decline of the rule of law in Europe, and the heightened concern over AI’s misuse, the Union cannot afford to miss this crucial opportunity and should introduce strong safeguards to protect the full respect of human rights and the rule of law.

The European Union (EU) must ban dangerous, AI-powered technologies in the AI Act, Amnesty International said today, as the bloc aims to finalize the world’s first comprehensive AI rulebook this fall.  

As AI systems are increasingly used by law enforcement, migration control and national security authorities, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is an urgent opportunity to prevent harm, protect people from rights violations and provide legal boundaries for authorities to use AI within the confines of the rule of law.