Insights

On June 13, 2024, the European Union (EU) adopted the Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act), making it the first-ever global law to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in a broad and horizontal manner. The historic measure applies to the development, deployment, and use of AI in the EU. Importantly, the EU AI Act has a certain “extra-territorial” effect to the extent that it is applicable to providers placing AI systems on the market in the EU, even if these providers are established outside the EU.

In March 2024, after years of preparation, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a new regulation governing electronic health data. The regulation, known as the European Health Data Space, was first proposed in March 2022 and, when formally adopted, will apply to the primary use and secondary use of health data. This initiative is a key component of the broader EU data strategy and represents the first of nine sector– and domain–specific data spaces outlined in the European Commission’s 2020 communication on “A European strategy for data.”

On October 18, 2024, the requirements of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (NIS2 Directive) entered into force. The NIS2 Directive outlines the cybersecurity responsibilities of both “essential” and “important” entities, and sets out the duties of “management bodies,” emphasizing their potential liability for failure to comply with the new mandates, along with significant penalties for entities that fail to meet their obligations.

It’s never been more popular for companies to claim that they, their products, or - perhaps most importantly – their events – are “green”, “environmentally friendly”, “climate neutral”, “sustainable”, help “save the planet”, or promote good social causes.