Signal EU's amended AI Act enters into force with delayed deadlines

Summary

The European Union's amended AI Act, known as the Digital Omnibus regulation (EU) 2026/1744, entered into force this week. The amendment extends compliance deadlines for high-risk AI systems, giving standalone (Annex III) systems until December 2, 2027 and product-embedded (Annex I) systems until August 2, 2028. National AI regulatory sandbox deployment deadlines were also pushed back one year to August 2, 2027. The amendment introduces an explicit ban on AI systems that generate non-consensual intimate deepfake images or child sexual abuse material. It also clarifies that the EU AI Office holds exclusive oversight authority over systems built on general-purpose AI (GPAI) models.