EU Gives Guidance on Avoiding AI Act 'Prohibited Use' Rules

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European Union AI Act Compliance Guidelines for Companies

Businesses around the globe are now officially mandated to adhere to the European Union’s comprehensive AI Act, which aims to address potential risks associated with emerging technologies. Recently, the EU Commission released updated guidance detailing how companies can align their generative models with the Act’s stipulations and avoid falling into its "unacceptable risk" category, which includes practices that are now prohibited within EU borders.

This AI Act, which was enacted in March 2024, has seen its first compliance deadline pass as of February 2, 2025. Notably, the EU prohibits eight specific applications of AI, including:

Harmful manipulation and deception using AI.
Exploiting vulnerabilities through AI-related means.
Social scoring systems.
Assessing or predicting risks of individual criminal offenses.
Untargeted data scraping of internet and CCTV sources to enhance facial recognition databases.
Emotion recognition technologies in workplaces and educational settings.
Biometric categorization aimed at inferring protected characteristics.
Real-time biometric identification for police use in publicly accessible areas.

Organizations that fail to comply with these prohibited practices may incur fines amounting to 7% of their global revenue or €35 million, whichever is higher. This marks the beginning of a series of compliance deadlines that will continue to unfold as AI technology develops further.

While the Commission acknowledges that these guidelines are not legally obligatory, they emphasize that their purpose is to promote a consistent, effective, and uniform application of the AI Act throughout the EU. The guidance offers legal interpretations and practical examples intended to clarify compliance for stakeholders. However, companies should not anticipate immediate legal repercussions, as the implementation of the AI Act will take place incrementally over the next two years, with the final phase scheduled for completion by August 2, 2026.