A coalition of NGOs representing more than 2,000 children’s rights, parents’ and mental health organisations called on MEPs, on Wednesday 12 April to strengthen provisions to protect children in the forthcoming AI Act.
The co-signatories, including EuroChild, EPA and 5Rights Foundation, want AI systems “that pose risks to children to be subject to strict due diligence procedures, with effective implementation that places the burden on companies rather than on children”.
The call comes as MEPs from the two European Parliament committees involved in the dossier are due to vote on the Parliament’s position for the interinstitutional negotiations on 26 April (see EUROPE 13155/5).
While agreements have been reached on most of the text in the European Parliament, discussions will continue on some points during the two technical meetings and three rapporteurs’ meetings that will take place between now and 19 April.
In particular, agreements will still need to be reached on the obligations of distributors, importers, users and other third parties, as well as on the processing of certain categories of personal data by suppliers to monitor, detect and correct biases in high-risk AI systems. The role and competences of the future EU ‘Artificial Intelligence’ Council will also be among the issues on which MEPs will have to agree.
“Although it will be hard to find agreement on all open points until 26 April, we’ll try. The next eight days are ‘make or break’. Everyone needs to compromise”, summarised one of the parliamentary assistants of Axel Voss (EPP, German), rapporteur of the opinion of the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (see EUROPE 13014/30), on Twitter. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)