Civil rights organizations urge EU for enhanced human rights protection in AI Act

Civil society organisations urge the EU to prioritise individual well-being and rights, advocating for accountable and transparent AI systems, and calling policymakers to resist tech lobbying and identify high-risk AI applications objectively.
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Leading civil society organisations (CS), including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Transparency International, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, and Algorithm Watch, have called upon the EU to prioritise the well-being of individuals and safeguard fundamental rights in the development of the EU AI Act.

Highlighting their concerns in an open letter endorsed by 150 organisations, they caution that without robust regulations, AI systems pose a significant risk of amplifying mass surveillance, perpetuating structural discrimination, consolidating power in the hands of tech giants, enabling unaccountable decision-making in public sectors, and causing environmental harm.

Emphasising the need for accountability, transparency, accessibility, and redress in AI deployment, the CS also advocate for specific measures such as prohibiting public surveillance and predictive profiling systems. They urge policymakers to resist lobbying pressures from major tech companies and to adopt an objective approach in identifying high-risk AI systems.