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Lawmakers to scrutinise AI influence on finance, copyright

The reports come as the financial sector and publishers have been calling for clarity on how the AI Act applies to their industries.

The European Parliament will begin work on two own-initiative reports on the impact of artificial intelligence on the financial sector and on copyright, after they were approved by chairs of political groups last week, sources have told Euronews.

The first, to consider the “Impact of artificial intelligence on the financial sector” will be drafted by lawmaker Arba Kokalari (Sweden/EPP) and was requested by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) with input from the Internal Market Committee (IMCO), Parliament sources confirmed.

Work on the AI Act – the framework that regulates AI via a risk-based approach – last year was mainly carried out by the IMCO and the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE). The rules started gradually applying last year and will be fully in force in 2027.

Last June, the European Commission launched a consultation and a workshop series to seek input from stakeholders on the use of AI in finance to help assess risks related to the implementation of the AI Act, but it has not proposed any concrete action for the sector.

Earlier this month, NGO Finance Watch warned about the possible conflict between AI functions and the principles of financial regulation.

Without clear rules and accountability mechanisms, the use of AI in financial services “introduces risks that are difficult to detect and control, threatening consumer protection and market stability while undermining trust in the wider financial system,” Finance Watch said.

Copyright

The second report – both will not be legally binding – “Copyright and Generative AI: opportunities and challenges”, was requested by the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI), and will be drafted by Axel Voss (Germany/EPP).

“During the AI Act negotiations, nobody wanted to talk about copyright. Now, writers, musicians and creatives are left exposed by an irresponsible legal gap. What I do not understand is that we are supporting big tech instead of protecting European creative ideas and content,” Voss said in a post on LinkedIn earlier last month.

Complications surrounding AI and copyright arose during the drafting of a proposed set of rules for providers of General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) - a process still ongoing.

The Code of Practice on GPAI should help providers of AI models – tools that can perform many tasks such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and picture application Midjourney – comply with the EU’s AI Act, but industry, including rightsholders expressed concerns about contradictions with copyright law.