He The European Parliament has disabled AI functions on the work devices of parliamentarians and their workersdue to concerns about cybersecurity and data protection, according to Politico. Apparently, the institution sent an email message to members of Parliament last Monday to inform them of its decision, which is intended to prevent the data they work with in the institution from ending up where they should not be.
The text of the email confirms that the chamber has disabled the AI functions integrated into the work tablets and smartphones of parliamentarians and members of their cabinets after its IT department confirmed that it could not guarantee the security of their data. In addition, Parliament has asked its members to consider applying similar precautions to their private devices. Especially those they use in tasks related to their work.
Specifically, according to the chamber, its members should avoid exposing their work documents and emails, as well as internal information, to AI so that Artificial Intelligence functions can scan them or analyze their content. It also points out the need to take precautions with third-party AI apps and avoid offering them broad access to your data.
The measure affects integrated functions such as assistants in writing and creating documentation summaries, as well as virtual assistants and web page summaries. Applications, email, calendars, word processors and spreadsheets, as well as other everyday tools are not affected by the measure, and continue to function normally, although without integrated AI functions.
It is clear from the email that some of the AI functions use cloud services to perform tasks that could be performed locally, which sends data outside the device, and as these functions are continually evolving, and their availability continues to expand on different devices, the European Parliament’s IT department is still assessing the extent to which information is shared with AI service providers. Therefore, until they are completely clear about the scope of sharing this data, they have decided to disable for security purposes the functions that involve interaction with AI and sending data to their tools.
The The European Union has significantly strengthened its data security policies in recent years, mainly due to doubts about technology providers from outside the region. Furthermore, the European Parliament has formally asked the European Commission to reduce its technological dependence on the US. In 2023, Parliament also banned the use of TikTok on its workers’ devices, and recommended that parliamentarians delete its app from their phones.
