EU Parliament Blocks AI Features Over Cyber, Privacy Fears
5 33An anonymous reader shares a report: The European Parliament has disabled AI features on the work devices of lawmakers and their staff over cybersecurity and data protection concerns, according to an internal email seen by POLITICO. The chamber emailed its members on Monday to say it had disabled "built-in artificial intelligence features" on corporate tablets after its IT department assessed it couldn't guarantee the security of the tools' data.
"Some of these features use cloud services to carry out tasks that could be handled locally, sending data off the device," the Parliament's e-MEP tech support desk said in the email. "As these features continue to evolve and become available on more devices, the full extent of data shared with service providers is still being assessed. Until this is fully clarified, it is considered safer to keep such features disabled."
5 comments
Good (Score: 5, Insightful)
by devslash0 ( 4203435 ) on Tuesday February 17, 2026 @04:35AM (#65993718)
This should be the default on all devices. AI features should be a selectable add-on.
I'll see you and raise... (Score: 5, Interesting)
by jddj ( 1085169 ) on Tuesday February 17, 2026 @08:53AM (#65994002)
There ought to be a "one switch" law: Cut off all on-device AI features with a single switch.
If you want to pick and choose, use some, not others, OK, that's on you, you can't use the switch.
But if you just want it all off, you shouldn't have to continuously pore through arcane and poorly-named menus looking to find where the tech bros have wormed it in, or turned it back on with an update.
One switch. I want it off. All of it.
Re: Treat EU legislators like 12 year olds (Score: 5, Insightful)
by toutankh ( 1544253 ) on Tuesday February 17, 2026 @04:59AM (#65993732)
The EU parliament is also one of few legislative entities in the Western world that care about consumer protection. I don't agree with everything it produces, but that doesn't mean they're always wrong. Although twelve year olds tend to think in such absolutes.
Re:Treat EU legislators like 12 year olds (Score: 5, Informative)
by Malenfrant ( 781088 ) on Tuesday February 17, 2026 @05:09AM (#65993742)
After looking further into this, it was indeed an amendment put in by bigots to try and wreck a piece of legislation they don't agree with but know they are in the minority on. The legislation was to cement recognition of trans women as women, and trans men as men. This amendment could have been used to bypass this because if passed, then if a trans man can get pregnant they would be a women not a man and this could then also be used to argue the vice-versa. It was an attempt to scupper a vote they were going to lose by making the legislation unworkable and was rejected on that basis.
Re:Treat EU legislators like 12 year olds (Score: 5, Insightful)
by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Tuesday February 17, 2026 @09:12AM (#65994036)
Bigots sure do think about trans people a lot...