(BRUSSELS) – Yesterday, the European Commission announced the withdrawal of its proposal for a Directive on adapting non-contractual civil liability rules to artificial intelligence (AI Liability Directive). The proposal aimed to address the difficulty individuals face when having to identify the liable entity and proving the requirements for a successful liability claim in the context of an opaque AI system. This decision is the latest development in an ongoing drive by the European Commission to cut “red tape” for the private sector in a misguided effort to live up to its ambition to prioritise competitiveness and innovation.
The Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe (CDT Europe) is deeply disappointed by this development, which represents a significant setback for the protection of the right to an effective remedy of victims of AI-induced harms.
“The AI Liability Directive was set to put forward a framework to ease the burden on individuals to pursue justice when wronged by an AI system. Its withdrawal is a departure from European values of transparency and accountability as well as fundamental rights, sending an alarming message that even the most basic procedural safeguards are fair play in the rush to embrace innovation”, said Laura Lazaro Cabrera, CDT Europe’s Counsel and Director of the Equity and Data Programme.
“Harms caused by AI systems and models are notoriously difficult to prove, owing to their complexity and lack of transparency. This leaves individuals with limited avenues to seek redress when they suffer harms induced by AI”, she further explained.
While CDT Europe acknowledges the limits of the proposal in its current form as well as its significant potential for improvement, we nevertheless stress that it is vital to have rules in place which tackle the specific barriers individuals face in the context of AI-induced harms. This is especially important in light of the limited remedies available to individuals under the AI Act, which creates a complaints mechanism but sets no obligations for relevant authorities to follow through.
We were encouraged by recent signs in the European Parliament to work on the file, following a report by the European Parliamentary Research Service which recommended taking the proposal forward. It is both disconcerting and preoccupying to see the withdrawal at a time when discussions in the Parliament on the proposal had restarted, and prior to the conclusion of a public consultation on the text which had been launched by the file’s rapporteur. CDT Europe will continue to advocate for the preservation of fundamental rights, including effective redress, in connection with harms caused by AI.