EU's AI Act enters full force; first conformity audits begin

The final tier of the European Union's AI Act took effect this week, extending binding obligations to general-purpose model providers across all 27 member states and opening the door to the law's heaviest penalties.

Regulators in Dublin and The Hague confirmed they had opened the first conformity reviews, examining documentation, training-data summaries and incident-reporting procedures at four providers they declined to name. Fines for the most serious violations can reach 7 percent of global turnover.

Industry groups repeated warnings that guidance arrived too late for orderly compliance, while the Commission pointed to the two-year transition period. The first enforcement decisions are expected in the first half of 2027.