The European Union’s new AI Act (the Act) went into efect on 1 August 2024. The Act is the first-ever comprehensive law focused on artifcial intelligence and machine learning (collectively, AI). The Act impacts many businesses—including those operating outside the European Union—that design, develop, or use AI systems or models. As with the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), violations of the Act may result in signifcant regulatory fnes (including direct liability for group parent companies) and private litigation (including collective litigation).