Enforcement
EU AI Act fines and penalties
The AI Act sets the highest maximum fines in EU digital regulation history: up to €35M or 7% of global turnover. Here is exactly how the three fine tiers work.
The three tiers
How much can you actually be fined?
Prohibited practices
Article 5 violations
€35,000,000
or 7% of global turnover, whichever is higher
Deploying a banned practice: social scoring, real-time public biometric identification for law enforcement, manipulative or exploitative systems.
High-risk system breaches
Chapter III violations
€15,000,000
or 3% of global turnover, whichever is higher
Missing technical documentation, no conformity assessment, no human oversight, or failing to register a high-risk system in the EU database.
Incorrect information
Article 99 violations
€7,500,000
or 1% of global turnover, whichever is higher
Supplying incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information to notified bodies or national authorities during a compliance check.
Enforcement
Who enforces AI Act fines?
National market-surveillance authorities
Each EU member state designates an authority responsible for investigating and fining non-compliant AI systems in its territory, similar to how GPSR enforcement works country by country.
The EU AI Office
Coordinates enforcement for general-purpose AI models at EU level and can investigate providers of the largest, most capable models directly.
Market withdrawal powers
Authorities can order a system pulled from the EU market independent of any fine. For a product-led company, losing EU market access can cost more than the fine itself.
Context