Summary: The European AI Office has issued its first major penalty under the EU AI Act, fining a multinational recruitment firm €15 million for using “Emotion Recognition” software during video interviews. The tool, used to screen candidates based on “micro-expressions,” was deemed an “Unacceptable Risk” under the new regulation.
Business Impact: Regulatory Reality Check. This confirms that the EU is enforcing the ban on biometric categorization strictly. For global HR departments, it signals the end of “AI-based personality scoring” in the hiring process.
Why It Happened: The company failed to classify their tool as “High Risk” and utilized prohibited biometrics that claim to infer emotions, which the EU has deemed scientifically pseudo-scientific and discriminatory.
Recommended Executive Action: Audit your HR technology stack immediately. Discontinue any tools that claim to analyze “sentiment,” “emotion,” or “personality” from video or voice data for EU candidates to avoid massive turnover-based fines.
Hashtags: #EUAIAct #Compliance #HRAI #Biometrics #Privacy #RegulatoryFine