On 2 August 2026, Europe's grace period on its landmark AI law ends and the Commission gains the power to fine the makers of the most powerful models — for how they trained them and for what those systems do in the world

As of August 2, 2026, the European Commission assumes full enforcement authority under the EU AI Act, allowing regulators to issue financial penalties for non-compliance. This transition ends a multi-year grace period and subjects developers of the most powerful artificial intelligence models to oversight regarding their training data and the real-world impact of their systems.