EU AI Act
Also called: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, AI Act
The EU's regulation on artificial intelligence — the first broad, binding AI law, applying by risk tier.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 entered into force on 1 August 2024 and applies in phases: prohibited practices from February 2025, general-purpose AI model obligations from August 2025, and the bulk of the framework from August 2026. It sorts systems into unacceptable, high, limited, and minimal risk, with obligations scaling accordingly. It reaches non-EU providers whose output is used in the EU.
In practice: A US SaaS company selling into the EU is in scope regardless of where it is incorporated.
Plain-English summary. The binding text is Regulation (EU) 2024/1689.