GDPR — not AI Act — delayed release of frontier AI in Europe, research shows
By Patricia Figueiredo ( June 29, 2026, 00:02 GMT | Insight) -- Researchers at the Centre for the Governance of AI found that the GDPR — rather than the EU AI Act — accounted for most regulatory delays affecting the release of frontier AI models in Europe. Their analysis of 375 large language models found 11 percent were delayed or never reached the EU, compared with 7 percent in the UK. The report found no strong evidence that the AI Act caused delays during the period studied, though researchers cautioned that its enforcement could create regulatory barriers in the future.Delays to the release of frontier AI models in Europe are often linked to the region’s regulatory framework. But it was the General Data Protection Regulation — not the EU AI Act — that was the main regulatory barrier during the period studied, researchers at the Centre for the Governance of AI have found. ...
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