The European ‘High Level Group on the Digital Markets Act’ has adopted a statement on Artificial Intelligence, setting out what it sees as both the risks and opportunities associated with AI, and providing a glimpse into the sort of work it will be conducting to implement a coherent regulatory approach.

The Group was set up by the European Commission last year to provide advice and expertise to ensure the Digital Markets Act and other relevant regulations are implemented in a “coherent and complimentary manner”. It comprises 30 representatives nominated from the Body of the European Regulators for Electronic Communications (“BEREC”), the European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”) and European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”), the European Competition Network (“ECN”), the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (“CPC Network”), and the European Regulatory Group of Audiovisual Media Regulators (“ERGA”).

The Statement notes that the “rapid evolution and deployment of AI has meant that AI has become a central policy issue in the EU and globally”, and points to measures such as the EU’s Digital Services Act (“DSA”), Digital Markets Act (“DMA”), and AI Act, each of which will play a part in addressing the challenges posed by AI. It states that it is important to make sure that digital and “related markets, such as cloud services and graphic processing unit markets, remain contestable”, drawing attention to the obligations on gatekeepers of core platform services under the DMA. It also stresses the importance of collecting and processing data in ways that are “lawful, transparent and fair…[and] in full compliance with legislation protecting the right to the protection of personal data and other fundamental rights”. Finally, it highlights measures in the AI Act and DSA aimed at making sure that “AI markets are not distorted by harmful behaviours from incumbents” such as the dissemination of deepfakes or the prevalence of so-called ‘hallucinations’.

In terms of the work that the Group itself can do to ensure that the development of AI is in line with the objectives of the relevant legislation, the Statement says that those in the Group will work “to preserve contestability and the incentives to innovate in AI…[taking] into account other applicable regulatory frameworks pertaining to digital services, AI, consumer protection, competition, data protection, digital, media, or telecom acquis”. It identifies cloud infrastructure and services, access to data, standardisation, and interoperability as particular areas of focus, as well as the “degree of influence exerted by incumbent undertakings through cooperative agreements with innovative startups”.

Looking ahead, the Group commits itself to exploring the interactions between the DMA and other regulatory instruments, exchanging experience and expertise in relation to the implementation and enforcement of the DMA, and developing means to ensure effective cooperation so that there is “a consistent regulatory approach across the DMA and other legal instruments”.

The Statement can be read in full here.