Bundestag passes AI law: Federal Network Agency becomes central supervisor

Shortly before 10 p.m. on Thursday, the Bundestag passed the national implementation law for the EU's AI regulation and appointed the Federal Network Agency as the central market surveillance authority for Artificial Intelligence in Germany. Business associations welcome the legal certainty gained. In contrast, the opposition and civil society lament deficits in fundamental rights protection and warn of a federal competence muddle.

With the votes of the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition, the parliament passed the draft law, which was amended by the Digital Committee. The AfD, Greens, and Left parties voted against it. At the same time, the MPs adopted a resolution aimed at creating an innovation-friendly and bureaucracy-light framework for AI applications. Opposition motions for a ban on biometric remote identification in public spaces and a mandatory transparency register did not find a majority.

With this initiative, Germany is creating the necessary national supervisory and fine structures just under two years after the AI Act came into force. The Federal Network Agency will take over market surveillance, provided that no specialized authorities are responsible. A coordination and competence center is also to be established at the agency to serve as a contact point for European institutions and to bundle national expertise.

Federal Network Agency receives key role

For citizens, the Federal Network Agency will become the point of contact for complaints about suspected violations of AI regulations. At the same time, it is intended to advise companies and operate at least one AI real-world laboratory where new applications can be tested in advance. In this way, the legislator intends to support start-ups and medium-sized companies.

The NGO AlgorithmWatch complains that central demands from science and civil society have remained unheeded. For example, there is still no mandatory transparency register for the use of AI in authorities. Data protection authorities had also called for the supervision of particularly sensitive high-risk AI systems to be transferred to them instead of the Federal Network Agency. The parliament has also not legally anchored an independent AI advisory board. The regular consultation in the Digital Committee, which is provided for instead, is considered insufficient by critics.

The IT association Bitkom warns of problems in implementation. Since the federal states are involved in enforcement, there is a risk of different assessments of identical AI systems and a bureaucratic patchwork. The federal government, on the other hand, points out that the responsibilities between the Federal Network Agency and supervisory authorities such as BaFin can be clearly delineated. According to the National Norm Control Council, the one-time costs for the federal government will be around four million euros. The ongoing annual expenses are estimated at 15.9 million euros for the federal government and 33.1 million euros for the federal states. Violations of participation and information obligations can result in fines of up to 50,000 euros.

(nen)