In a joint statement, Amnesty International and 117 other organisations call on EU legislators to close a dangerous loophole in the Artificial Intelligence Act.

As European Union institutions begin trilogue negotiations, civil society calls on EU institutions to ensure the Regulation puts people and fundamental rights first in the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act).

As Spain assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), Amnesty International calls on the Spanish government to ensure that human rights are at the forefront of the mandate. The Spanish presidency comes at a time of increased challenges in Europe: ongoing Russia’s war against Ukraine, mounting geopolitical tensions, new conflicts and instability across the world, worsening impacts of the climate crisis, increasing challenges to the international human rights system and those seeking to defend human rights. We continue to observe the backsliding on the rule of law and the growing anti-gender movement within the EU, while there is a significant uptake in sea crossings in the Mediterranean, with many cases of shipwrecks and drownings due to a failure to prioritise prompt rescue, new policies to obstruct operations by NGO rescue vessels, and continued reliance on interceptions by third countries to prevent arrivals to the EU.

Responding to today’s vote by Members of the European Parliament urging the European Union (EU) to more tightly regulate the use, manufacture and trade of spyware, Rebecca White, campaigner at Amnesty Tech’s Disrupting Surveillance Team, said: 

Responding to the European Parliament’s decision to ban invasive mass surveillance technologies in its Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), Mher Hakobyan, Advocacy Advisor on AI Regulation said: 

The European Parliament must use a plenary vote cementing its final position on the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) to ban racist and discriminatory profiling systems that target migrants and other marginalized groups, Amnesty International said today, ahead of the vote on 14 June.

Responding to the European Parliament’s vote on how artificial intelligence systems should be governed under the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), Mher Hakobyan, Advocacy Advisor at Amnesty International, said:   

Responding to the final recommendations and report published today by the European Parliament’s PEGA committee, which urges the European Union (EU) to more tightly regulate the use, manufacture and trade of spyware, Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, Head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab, said: 

Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard has sent an open letter calling on the Rapporteurs and members of leading committees on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) to prohibit the use of certain artificial intelligence (AI) systems which are incompatible with human rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the AI Act.

Ahead of the AI Act vote in the European Parliament, civil society calls on Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to ensure the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) prioritises fundamental rights and protects people affected by artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Responding to the French National Assembly’s decision to permit the use of mass video surveillance technology powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) during the 2024 Olympics, Mher Hakobyan, Amnesty International’s Advocacy Advisor on AI Regulation, said:  

French lawmakers must reject any plans to use video surveillance powered by artificial intelligence (AI) at the 2024 Paris Olympics.  Such draconian technologies of mass surveillance violate the rights to privacy and can lead to violations of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. This could result into dystopian levels of surveillance in the future, Amnesty International said today, as the proposed bill on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is headed for a plenary vote at France’s National Assembly.