EU asks Microsoft to clarify the risks associated with AI in Bing

The European Commission may penalize Microsoft if, by May 27, it does not provide sufficient details on the risks connected to the generative AI elements in its search engine Bing.

The Commission expressed its concerns on Friday about the spread of fake news and automated service manipulation that could fool voters.

It announced that having not received a response to a request for information issued on March 14, it was ramping up enforcement actions on the matter.

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The Commission said that it is lacking information on the hazards associated with the generative AI capabilities of the search engine Bing. Notably, the regulator called attention to the AI assistant “Copilot in Bing” and the image creation tool “Image Creator by Designer.”

According to the Commission, Microsoft has until May 27 to submit the missing data, or else it will be fined 1% of its annual revenue. If the data is not produced by that date, the Commission may further impose “periodic penalties” equal to up to 5% of the company’s average daily income or worldwide annual turnover.

If the business gives false or deceptive information, it may also be fined. In April 2023, Bing was classified under the DSA as a “very large online search engine” (VLOSE), which means it has additional responsibilities for reducing systemic risks such as misinformation.

The monumental Digital Services Act of the European Union went into effect last year, and it mandates that tech companies take more action against dangerous and unlawful content that appears on their networks.

It has also been demonstrated that AI-powered image-creation technologies can generate potentially damaging or racially prejudiced results, including deceptive deepfakes. Meanwhile, the EU is gearing up for an election next month, which is focusing minds in Brussels on political disinformation powered by artificial intelligence.

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“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 Commission stated in a press release.