EU AI Act: High-risk AI rules delayed to December 2027 in first major rollback

EU legislators reached a provisional agreement to delay enforcement of high-risk AI Act rules by 16 months to December 2, 2027, marking the first significant rollback of the bloc's digital rulebook. The deal also largely exempts industrial AI applications from the law's scope — a win for Germany after Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed for the change. The agreement adds a new ban on AI systems generating non-consensual sexual deepfakes and child sexual abuse material, effective December 2, 2026. Industry lobbying from ASML, Airbus, Ericsson, Nokia, SAP, Siemens, and Mistral AI pressured the rollback.