BRUSSELS — The European Parliament has disabled AI features on the work devices of lawmakers and their staff over cybersecurity and data protection concerns, according to an internal email seen by POLITICO.
“Some of these features use cloud services to carry out tasks that could be handled locally, sending data off the device,” the Parliament’s e-MEP tech support desk said in the email. “As these features continue to evolve and become available on more devices, the full extent of data shared with service providers is still being assessed. Until this is fully clarified, it is considered safer to keep such features disabled.”
The Parliament declined to clarify what exact built-in AI features have been disabled, or what systems the work devices operate on.
The email also urged lawmakers to “consider applying similar precautions” for their own, private devices, especially those being used for work-related tasks.
Members should avoid exposing work emails, documents or internal information “to AI features that scan or analyze content,” be “cautious” with third-party AI apps and “avoid granting broad access to data,” the email said.