AI Act comes to Germany
- Federal Cabinet adopts Implementation Act for the AI Act
The Federal Cabinet today adopted the Implementation Act for the EU AI Act. The law determines, amongst other things, which authorities in Germany will be responsible in future for implementing the regulation, overseeing compliance, and supporting businesses. Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst comments:
"The Implementation Act will decide whether the AI Act becomes a driver of innovation or a bureaucracy project in Germany. The AI Act encounters an existing complex administrative structure in Germany, with responsibilities broadly distributed across federal and state level as well as across individual sectors. Designating the Federal Network Agency as the central authority within a network of further competent bodies is a pragmatic approach. The pooling of responsibilities and cross-authority collaboration must now function swiftly, efficiently, and reliably. It is equally important that the competent authorities are structured in such a way that advice, coordination, and market surveillance can be carried out effectively. They will need lean structures and efficient processes — and must themselves make comprehensive use of AI in order to fulfil their remit. Only then will it be possible to meet the extensive range of tasks with the roughly 60 additional members of staff provided for.
Without the use of AI and adequate resources, regulation will quickly lead to a standstill. The designated testing bodies must not become a bottleneck. In many cases, companies are required to have AI systems classified as particularly high-risk under the AI Act assessed and certified by independent bodies. These bodies must first receive official recognition from the relevant authorities. If this leads to lengthy waiting times, AI innovation in sensitive areas will be stifled — which is precisely what we experienced with the Medical Devices Regulation. That regulation held back innovation and caused harm to patient welfare. The same must not be allowed to happen again in the implementation of the AI Act.
In addition, innovation-friendly AI regulatory sandboxes can help businesses bring new solutions to market — with low barriers to entry, streamlined digital procedures, and a guaranteed response within 30 days."
