Blocks AI tools

EU Parliament blocks AI tools over cyber, privacy fears

AI features on EU devices sent data to cloud, prompting the Parliament’s IT support to switch them off.

By Ellen O'Regan and Max Griera

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."

The European Union has beefed up its data security policies in recent years, in part due to concerns around foreign technology vendors. A group of lawmakers in November urged the Parliament to ditch internal use of Microsoft software in favor of a European alternative, POLITICO reported. The institution in 2023 also banned the use of social media app TikTok on staff devices and recommended that MEPs delete it from their phones.

The latest move to switch off AI tools concerns built-in features like writing and summarizing assistants, enhanced virtual assistants and webpage summaries in both tablets and phones, an EU official said, granted anonymity to disclose details of the security policy.

Apps, email, calendar, documents, and other day-to-day tools are not affected, the email to lawmakers said.

In a written statement to POLITICO, the European Parliament press service said it "constantly monitor[s] cybersecurity threats and quickly deploys the necessary measures to prevent them," but wouldn't comment on specific security or cybersecurity matters due to their "sensitive nature."

The Parliament declined to clarify what exact built-in AI features have been disabled, or what systems the work devices operate on.

The email also urged lawmakers to "consider applying similar precautions" for their own, private devices, especially those being used for work-related tasks.

Members should avoid exposing work emails, documents or internal information "to AI features that scan or analyze content," be "cautious" with third-party AI apps and "avoid granting broad access to data," the email said.