German government urged to start proper supervision of AI

German consumer groups and regulators have called upon the government to formally appoint a national authority to begin oversight of artificial intelligence providers.

Germany missed the EU deadline of 2 August to notify the European Commission which market surveillance authorities it has appointed to oversee business compliance with the AI Act. The local regulators once appointed will then keep an eye on local providers of AI systems, ensuring they follow the Act.  

The Hamburg data protection commissioner, Thomas Fuchs, called on the federal government to quickly designate the AI market surveillance authorities – which in some areas also include the data protection supervisory authorities.

"Due to the delay, companies and authorities are now missing their binding contact person for questions about the AI regulation. This is also a disadvantage for Germany as a location for AI innovation," Fuchs said.

These concerns were echoed by Lina Ehrig, head of digital at the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (VZBV). Without supervision, companies could use AI to manipulate consumers or exploit individual weaknesses, for example via real-time voice analysis in call centres, VZBV warned. 

“There needs to be a supervisory authority that keeps an eye on this and acts against violations. That hasn't happened so far," says Ehrig.

According to a Commission official, some of the 27 EU member states have sent notifications about the appointments – which are now under consideration – however, it seems that most member states have missed the deadline. 

Euronews reported in May that with just three months to go until the early August deadline, it remained unclear in at least half of the member states which authority will be nominated.

Despite the lack of national regulation, the Hamburg data watchdog said it started building capability and training personnel for the complex tests of AI systems to be ready for the moment of legal designation. The regulator earlier this year asked Meta questions about its AI tools.

The AI Act entered into force in August 2024, but the provisions start to apply gradually. This month, national authorities need to be appointed, and rules on general purpose providers – such as ChatGPT, Claud AI and Gemini – start to apply.