EU Commission May Fine Microsoft for Failing to Disclose Generative AI Risks on Bing

The European Commission is warning Microsoft today that the company has yet to satisfy a request for information regarding the risks related to generative AI features in Bing. Microsoft has until May 27 to provide information under the Digital Services Act (DSA) on generative AI risks on Bing, otherwise the company will face fines up to 1% of its total annual income.

In the initial request that the EU Commission sent to Microsoft on March 14, the regulator explained that Microsoft’s generative AI tools, which are powered by OpenAI’s technology, may not be compliant with the Digital Service Act. As a reminder, the DSA is a new EU law that went into effect on February 17, 2024. It aims to curb the online distribution of illegal content and disinformation, and it applies to online platforms with more than 45 million users in the European Union.

Microsoft Bing, which has been designated as a “very large online search engine” under the DSA, must take action against content that could lead to manipulation or disinformation. And despite Microsoft, OpenAI, and other companies implementing safeguards on their generative AI tools to prevent their misuse, these systems are already proven to be imperfect.

“The request for information is based on the suspicion that Bing may have breached the DSA for risks linked to generative AI, such as so-called ‘hallucinations’, the viral dissemination of deepfakes, as well as the automated manipulation of services that can mislead voters,” the EU Commission said today. The EU regulator added that “the suspected violations of the DSA may present risks linked to civic discourse and electoral processes.”

With Elections for the European Parliament taking place on June 6-9 2024, it’s understandable that the EU Commission is stepping up its enforcement actions against Microsoft. The EU regulator could still fine the Redmond giant if it determines that the information it received was incomplete or incorrect.