Europe wants to lighten AI compliance burden for startups

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission plans to seek feedback to help lighten the regulatory burden for startups struggling to comply with European Union rules on the use of artificial intelligence, according to a Commission document seen by Reuters.

The move is the latest by the EU executive to water down legislation enacted in recent years following complaints by businesses across Europe about the volume and cost of red tape hampering their operations.

"There is an opportunity to minimise the potential compliance burden of AI Act, particularly for smaller innovators," said the document, the AI Continent Action Plan.

"The Commission aims to build on the first learnings from the current implementation phase and identify further measures that are needed to facilitate a smooth and simple application of the AI Act," it said.

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen will present the measure on Wednesday.

The 27-country European Union signed off the landmark AI Act last year, a more comprehensive rulebook than the United States' light-touch voluntary compliance approach. China's AI regulations aim to maintain social stability and state control.

The AI Act imposes strict transparency obligations on high-risk AI systems, while the requirements for general-purpose AI models are lighter.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kevin Liffey)