Italy first in EU to pass comprehensive law regulating use of AI
18 hours ago
- #Italy
- #Cybersecurity
- #AI Regulation
- Italy is the first EU country to pass a comprehensive AI law, regulating its use and imposing penalties for harmful actions like deepfakes.
- The law aligns with the EU’s AI Act, promoting human-centric, transparent, and safe AI use while emphasizing innovation, cybersecurity, and privacy.
- Prison sentences of 1-5 years will be imposed for illegal spreading of harmful AI-generated content.
- Harsher penalties are introduced for AI-related crimes like fraud and identity theft, with stricter transparency and oversight in workplaces and sectors like healthcare and education.
- Children under 14 require parental consent to access AI.
- AI-assisted works are copyright-protected if they involve genuine intellectual effort, while AI-driven text and data mining is restricted to non-copyrighted content or authorized scientific research.
- The law aims to steer AI toward growth, rights, and citizen protection, with enforcement by the Agency for Digital Italy and the National Cybersecurity Agency.
- €1bn from a state-backed fund will support AI, cybersecurity, and telecom companies, though critics say this is modest compared to US and China investments.