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The move by the European Commission came amid intense lobbying by big tech companies and criticism from the U.S. administration against the AI Act adopted last year, which applies risk-based rules to artificial intelligence. Sign up here. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen will present the so-called Digital Omnibus on November 19 according to a Commission agenda. The document could still be changed before then. "The Commission is proposing targeted simplification measures aimed at ensuring timely, smooth and proportionate implementation," the draft Digital Omnibus document seen by Reuters said. The changes include exempting companies from registering their AI systems in an EU database for high-risk systems if these are only used for narrow or procedural tasks, and the introduction of a one-year grace period where authorities can only levy penalties from August 2, 2027. A requirement for AI system providers to mark their output as AI-generated content to address concerns such as deepfakes and misinformation will be subject to a transitional grace period, the document said. The EU executive has in recent weeks watered down landmark environmental rules after blowback from companies and the U.S. government. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Gareth Jones Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab An agenda-setting and market-moving journalist, Foo Yun Chee is a 21-year veteran at Reuters. Her stories on high profile mergers have pushed up the European telecoms index, lifted companies' shares and helped investors decide on their next move. Her knowledge and experience of European antitrust laws and developments helped her break stories on Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple, numerous market-moving mergers and antitrust investigations. She has previously reported on Greek politics and companies, when Greece's entry into the eurozone meant it punched above its weight on the international stage, as well as on Dutch corporate giants and the quirks of Dutch society and culture that never fail to charm readers.
