Microsoft faces billions of dollars in fines in EU over Bing AI issues
Microsoft faces a fine of up to 1% of its annual revenue in the European Union if it fails to respond to the information request by May 27.
The threat stemmed from requests made under the EU’s Digital Services Act in relation to the company’s Bing search engine and related generative artificial intelligence services.
A post was sent on May 17 on X.com compelling Microsoft to “provide information about Bing’s generative AI risks under the Digital Services Act,” making the news public.
“Bing may pose risks associated with generative AI, including so-called ‘hallucinations,’ deepfakes, and automated service manipulation that could mislead voters.”
In a blog entry linked to the European Commission’s official website “Daily News”, the Commission stated that “an initial request was made in May regarding certain risks arising from Bing’s generative AI features, in particular “Copilot by Bing” and “Image Creator”. The designer explained that it was sent on the 14th.”
The blog post goes on to explain that Microsoft “must provide the committee with the requested information by May 27.”
The warning states that if the EU’s requests are not met, the Commission “may impose fines of up to 1% of the supplier’s annual gross receipts” and “up to 5% of the supplier’s average daily income.” It comes with a notice that “periodic fines” may be imposed. deadline.
A 1% fine may not sound like a big hit, but for Microsoft, the amount could be well over $2 billion. Self-reported revenue for 2023 was $211 billion, and it is expected that Microsoft could surpass that in 2024 if current market trends remain steady. Based on these numbers, the minimum amount the Redmond company would pay if it were fined would be about $2.10. 10 billion.
It’s worth mentioning that these fines have not yet been imposed and that, as of now, Microsoft has not been found guilty of violating any EU law, at least not specifically related to this notice. Instead, this appears to be more of a public courtesy notice indicating that the company has effectively addressed requests for additional information that could have consequences if ignored.
Cointelegraph reached out to Microsoft for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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