Von der Leyen’s coalition fractures over need for AI liability rules
The European Parliament held a heated debate over how to handle AI, with the center-right doubling down on simplification to boost European business.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's coalition experienced a fracture at Thursday's European Parliament plenary, sparked by a disagreement over whether to implement AI liability rules. The EU had previously contemplated specific liability regulations for AI in 2022, but subsequently abandoned these provisions during a broader simplification initiative aimed at enhancing the bloc's competitiveness.
Alex Agius Saliba, a Maltese vice-president of the Socialists and Democrats, a key member of von der Leyen's majority coalition, argued that withdrawing the AI liability directive was a "big mistake" and urged the Commission to reintroduce the legislation.
The plenary debate, which also delved into a global framework for AI regulation, revealed significant internal tensions within von der Leyen's centrist coalition. Centrist parties advocated for new rules to address AI-fueled hacking incidents, while center-right members emphasized the importance of simplification to maintain European businesses' competitiveness in the global AI race.
Socialist and Green lawmakers called for the establishment of a new AI Liability Act to hold AI companies accountable for any resulting harm, similar to traditional manufacturers' products.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman proposed a similar concept for a liability framework for companies behind autonomous cyberattacks by AI models, following a recent hack by autonomous OpenAI agents into the Hugging Face platform. Dutch Green lawmaker Kim van Sparrentak likened the lack of liability rules to cheap, dangerous products and urged the Commission to "stop scrapping rules to please [U.S. President Donald] Trump" and create a "strong new liability act" to cover AI testing and development.
The debate turned confrontational between key AI-focused lawmakers from von der Leyen's coalition. Swedish center-right member Arba Kokalari accused the Greens and Socialists of operating on a "different planet" when they demanded more regulation, emphasizing that the EU already had a comprehensive regulatory framework in the form of the AI Act.
Italian Social Democrat Brando Benifei countered that Europe should lead with new liability rules, arguing that waiting for CEO posts to provide updates on AI developments would be insufficient. German Green lawmaker Sergey Lagodinsky disagreed with Kokalari, questioning his perspective as "not from the planet where AI agents break out."
International Partnerships Commissioner Jozef Síkela concluded the debate by noting that the liability rules were withdrawn due to the inability of EU countries and Parliament lawmakers to agree on them.
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