GPAI obligations under the EU AI Act: Enforcement has started 2 August 2026
Enforcement of obligations for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models under the EU AI Act formally began on 2 August 2026. Companies that develop or deploy GPAI models in the EU are now subject to active regulatory requirements, not just preparation deadlines.
Why this matters: This is the moment the EU AI Act stops being a planning exercise and starts having teeth. If you build, sell, or rely on general-purpose AI models in Europe, the rules are no longer coming — they are here. That means documentation, transparency requirements, and accountability for systemic risks are now enforceable. Companies that treated compliance as a future problem now face real exposure. The bigger story is whether regulators actually have the capacity to enforce, and how hard they push first.
Who should care: Lawyers · Privacy officers · Compliance · AI governance · Administrators · General readers · Policy
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