Markus Wünschelbaum: ripple effects of the new AI Act prohibitions on AdTech and the broader digital economy

This was a really eventful week for AI regulation, with the first rules of the AI Act starting to apply on Sunday, February 2nd and the EU Commission releasing Guidelines on Tuesday (prohibited practices) and Thursday (scope of AI systems). To cap it all, a first-ever class action under the new framework (alongside the GDPR and the Digital Services Act) was filed on Wednesday against X-Twitter and TikTok. 

The following conversation with Markus Wünschelbaum, with a particular focus on digital advertising and AdTech, preceded and rightly anticipated these developments. 

Dr. Markus Wünschelbaum currently serves as Policy and Data Strategy Advisor to Hamburg’s Data Protection Commissioner Thomas Fuchs. In this role, he advises on key data protection & AI policies and strategic initiatives. Previously, he was responsible for imposing fines, fundamental GDPR issues, and freedom of information. He began his career focusing on the intersection of labor law and data protection, having published an acclaimed doctoral thesis on this topic and working at an international law firm.

References:

• Dr. Markus Wünschelbaum on LinkedIn
• Hamburg’s Data Protection Commissioner (Der Hamburgische Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit)
• Guidelines on prohibited artificial intelligence (AI) practices, as defined by the AI Act (EU Commission)
• Guidelines on AI system definition to facilitate the first AI Act’s rules application (EU Commission)
• Class Actions Filed Against TikTok and X in Germany: A Test for the DSA, GDPR, and AI Act (Spirit Legal - Peter Hense)
• Peter Hense (Spirit Legal) on Masters of Privacy
• Luca Bertuzzi (Euractiv)