EU businesses want a pause on AI regulations so they can cope with unregulated Big Tech players
- Reference: 1751610786
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/07/04/eu_businesses_push_for_freedom/
- Source link:
"It’s clear that artificial intelligence will have significant and lasting impact not only on companies, but also on governments and societies," Mistral [1]said .
"However, in the rush to attempt to put AI to use, it all too often seems that AI is something that happens to people and countries, an inevitability beyond their influence that leaves them at the mercy of closed, opaque systems designed and operated by distant, behemoth corporations."
[2]
We can't say for certain which distant, behemoth corporations Mistral means, but the list is likely to include American tech brats Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, along with OpenAI and Anthropic.
AI leaves people and countries at the mercy of closed, opaque systems
The French AI biz unveiled [3]AI for Citizens – which again is focused not on citizens but on "States and public institutions" – a day after joining a group of around 50 European companies and organizations seeking a delay in the implementation of the EU's AI Act.
The [4]Act aims "to make sure that AI systems used in the EU are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly." Some of its provisions came into force as of [5]August 1, 2024 , but most don't apply until August 2, 2026.
[6]
[7]
The Act applies regulations matched to risk levels and therefore bans real-time facial recognition in public places as that’s felt to be an unacceptably risk practice. It also imposes data governance and risk management requirements on high risk systems, but demands lesser transparency requirements for less risky AI systems.
When the AI Act was unveiled, World Economic Forum contributor Dionys Gragousian, director of AI Governance & Sustainability at startup DataRobot, [8]suggested the AI Act "actually has teeth" due to the size of potential fines it allows. In time, those teeth [9]became less apparent as regulators adjusted the law after [10]industry lobbying .
[11]US budget bill passes without controversial block on states regulating AI
[12]AI models just don't understand what they're talking about
[13]Meta calls €200M EU fine over pay-or-consent ad model 'unlawful'
[14]Call center staffers explain to researchers how their AI assistants aren't very helpful
The latest call to defang the regulatory regime comes in the form of an open letter from the EU AI Champions Initiative, a coalition of more than 60 organizations that launched in February 2025. The group presently claims to represent over 110 organizations with a total market capitalization of more than $3 trillion that together account for over 3.7 million jobs across Europe.
Around 50 of these Champions – Mistral, Airbus, ASML, Publicis, and Siemens Energy, among others – on Wednesday published [15]a note urging EU leaders to delay the enforcement of the AI Act by two years for the sake of European competitiveness.
[16]
"This postponement, coupled with a commitment to prioritize regulatory quality over speed, would send innovators and investors around the world a strong signal that Europe is serious about its simplification and competitiveness agenda," the letter states.
"In the context of the broader review of EU digital rules you have announced, it would also create the room needed to develop an innovation-friendly implementation strategy and identify pragmatic avenues for regulatory simplification, covering both GPAI [general purpose AI] models and high-risk AI systems as well as broader digital regulations."
Advocacy group Corporate Observatory Europe panned the EU AI Champions bid for halting enforcement of the AI Act.
[17]
"Delay. Pause. Deregulate. That is Big Tech’s lobby playbook to fatally weaken rules that should protect us from biased and unfair AI systems," said Bram Vranken, Corporate Europe Observatory researcher and campaigner, in [18]a statement .
"These risks are far from hypothetical. From Israeli mass surveillance and killings of Palestinians in Gaza, the dissemination of disinformation during elections, including by far-right groups and foreign governments, to the widespread use of biased and faulty AI systems in welfare programs, AI is already being used in countless risky and problematic ways."
American companies have also tried to convince US lawmakers not to regulate AI, by seeking [19]a ten-year moratorium on state AI regulation. But the US Senate [20]didn't cooperate . Now it's Europe's turn to balance economic ambition against civil society concerns about AI. ®
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[1] https://mistral.ai/news/ai-for-citizens
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aGemNdU_gGdMXaiPCwuOAQAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://mistral.ai/solutions/ai-for-citizens
[4] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20230601STO93804/eu-ai-act-first-regulation-on-artificial-intelligence
[5] https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/ai-act-enters-force-2024-08-01_en
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aGemNdU_gGdMXaiPCwuOAQAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aGemNdU_gGdMXaiPCwuOAQAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/02/how-businesses-should-respond-to-eu-artificial-intelligence-act/
[9] https://www.theinformation.com/articles/europes-ai-act-has-landed-with-fewer-teeth-than-originally-proposed
[10] https://time.com/6288245/openai-eu-lobbying-ai-act/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/03/trump_budget_bill_tech_impact/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/03/ai_models_potemkin_understanding/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/03/meta_ec_dma_sulk/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/02/call_center_ai_assistants/
[15] https://aichampions.eu/
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aGemNdU_gGdMXaiPCwuOAQAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aGemNdU_gGdMXaiPCwuOAQAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://corporateeurope.org/en/2025/07/eus-ai-rules-set-be-handed-silver-plate-corporate-lobbyists
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/20/trump_bill_regulation_free_ai/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/01/senate_passes_trumps_big_beastly/
[21] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Let's pause regulation for just a couple of years
Unfortunately EU is weak. It's either "pause" regulation or compel the US to regulate so there is level playing field.
Yup
"urging EU leaders to delay the enforcement of the AI Act by two years for the sake of European competitiveness."
Because regulation restricts development, so the EU must decide if they want EU business to compete in AI or not. It is perfectly fine to say they should not compete and the regulation is worth more but then they will likely be left behind by others who are not regulated out of existence.
The problem I see is the EU wants to have these great and successful innovators like the US but wants to regulate them so hard they cannot exist.
Re: Yup
The EU will be even more dependent on US tech. Probably that's the whole point behind this "regulation". It has good intentions, but sounds like it is founded on a pile of brown envelopes, in a typical EU fashion.
"Because regulation restricts development"
OK, exactly what rules are restricting AI in the EU at the moment?
Rather than sweeping generalisations, if people can actually identify rules that do/might stop innovation then it's possible to amend those, or agree regulatory sandboxes. I know this because I am a regulator, and for all the whining about red tape, when we ask business "what are we doing that holds you back?" the chorus of whining suddenly reverts to back-of-the-class mumbling with few if any tangible cases being put forward.
If the companies concerned want change (or indeed to avoid new regulations) then perhaps they need to be specific, and politicians can consider the benefits, disbenefits and risks of what they're asking for.
As always it's a manger vibe thing, they just know they want AI. There are always doomsters and naysayers saying that something is a crock of shit because of knowledge and experience, just ignore them.
@AC
You seem to have replied to my comment without replying on the thread.
"OK, exactly what rules are restricting AI in the EU at the moment?"
The identified problem is in the article and I quoted it- the AI Act. Quoting from the article- The Act aims "to make sure that AI systems used in the EU are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly." Some of its provisions came into force as of August 1, 2024, but most don't apply until August 2, 2026.
"Rather than sweeping generalisations, if people can actually identify rules that do/might stop innovation then it's possible to amend those, or agree regulatory sandboxes."
All of them, that is what regulation does. We tend to agree that we need some regulatory safeguards to protect us but the more that gets piled on the less innovation can happen. The serious point that people get wrong is that you cannot generally identify rules that stop innovation because the innovation is the discovery of something new we didnt know about, and the regulations prevent it. This misunderstanding leads to people thinking regulation is good, and asking what unknown improvement would have happened if we didnt stop its discovery.
"I know this because I am a regulator, and for all the whining about red tape, when we ask business "what are we doing that holds you back?" the chorus of whining suddenly reverts to back-of-the-class mumbling with few if any tangible cases being put forward."
What can we use AI for? This new thing which is improving in some ways, is showing limitations in others and world wide is being explored as a great unknown. To turn the question back on you- what innovation has not happened and not been discovered because of the regulations? It is an impossible question because nobody has explored it due to regulations.
If you want to see the impact you have look at the EU's envy of search engine and social media technology from the US, which came from low regulation, and see that the EU isnt even capable of that regulatory freedom to make the next big thing (see AI Act before knowing what AI could even do).
I am trying to frame this as agnostic as I can, people do make the argument for more regulation. But factually it must be understood that it comes at a cost.
Tangentially here is an example of food being regulated in the UK- https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/heres-why-there-is-no-economic-growth
Re: @AC
A cursory internet search tells me I would not want to eat an Impossible Foods vegan burger.
[1]Harvard blog | [2]Dr Frank Lipman blog | [3]Reddit posts complaining of food intoxication
Therefore regulation works.
[1] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/impossible-and-beyond-how-healthy-are-these-meatless-burgers-2019081517448
[2] https://www.drfranklipman.com/post/no-no-no-to-impossible-burgers
[3] https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=Impossible+Foods+vegan+burgers+digestive+problems+site%3Areddit.com&ia=web
Re: @AC
@Dan 55
"A cursory internet search tells me I would not want to eat an Impossible Foods vegan burger."
I doubt this will surprise you but I wouldnt want to eat one either. I wouldnt eat a lot of the vegetarian imitation foods but then I choose not to buy them. That doesnt mean others dont want it, such is the variety of life and the free market.
"Harvard blog": Why is that a reason to block?
"Dr Frank Lipman blog": Looks like a promo for his favourite brand.
"Reddit posts complaining of food intoxication": I can only hope our food regulation is based on something more solid than reddit.
"Therefore regulation works."
4 years of faffing and if the reasons are anything like the above I dont get why it would be delayed.
Agree
The AI Act to me as a developer looks pretty easy to adhere to.
In a nutshell (from my understanding as CS major, so take it with a grain of salt)
AIs are regulated and need to be approved, when they are security-relevant, as in medical applications, controlling aircraft or the like.
Sounds sensible to me.
AIs are forbidden, when infringing on rights of citizens.
But surely none of the signers planned to implement some shady, privacy-infringing or rights-violating AI developments, right? RIGHT?
Which means companies can work on 99% of possible AI applications without needing to consider the AI act.
Probably these CEOs just suffer from a heavy case of FOMO and feel the urge to do some virtue signalling?
Let's pause regulation for just a couple of years
That way we get to do what we like and when the time comes to regulate a couple of years later, they can't put the genie back in the bottle.