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EU Digital Omnibus on AI enters force, delaying high-risk AI Act duties to 2027-28

Rule changeGovernmentFrontierInformationEUConfirmed

Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, published on 24 July and in force on 27 July, postpones AI Act high-risk obligations to 2 December 2027 for Annex III systems and 2 August 2028 for product-embedded systems. It adds bans from 2 December 2026 on AI that generates child sexual abuse material or non-consensual intimate images of identifiable people, and gives generative systems already on the market until that date to watermark outputs.

Why it matters

Providers and public bodies deploying high-risk AI in the EU gain 16-24 months, while the new prohibitions and watermarking deadline arrive in December 2026.

SourceEUR-Lex (Official Journal)Coverage: White & Case Checked against the primary source. Independently fact-checked on 7 Oct 2026.
European CommissionEuropean ParliamentCouncil of the European UnionEU AI Office

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