EDPB Endorses Global Privacy Assembly Statement on AI-Generated Imagery, European Union, February 2026

On 23 February 2026, EDPB Chair Anu Talus signed a Joint Statement on AI-Generated Imagery and the Protection of Privacy on behalf of the European Data Protection Board. The statement was coordinated by the Global Privacy Assembly's International Enforcement Cooperation Working Group and represents the agreed position of 61 data protection and privacy authorities across the world. The statement is final and published; it does not require transposition or legislative implementation.

The statement's controlling authority derives from Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the General Data Protection Regulation), in particular Article 5(1)(a) (lawfulness, fairness, and transparency), Article 6 (lawfulness of processing), Article 9 (processing of special categories of data), and Article 22 (automated individual decision-making). The statement confirms that organisations developing or deploying AI image and video generation systems that process personal data of identifiable individuals must identify a lawful basis under Article 6 and, where biometric or health data is implicated, meet the heightened conditions of Article 9. Processing that produces non-consensual intimate imagery, defamatory depictions, or other harmful content featuring real individuals engages these provisions directly.

The practical effect on AI developers, social media platforms, and operators of generative image and video tools is immediate and direct. The 61 co-signatory authorities — covering the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other major jurisdictions — have announced they will share enforcement information and coordinate regulatory responses. Platforms that integrate AI content generation features must implement, from the point of product design, four categories of measures: robust safeguards against misuse, meaningful transparency about AI-generated content, effective and accessible individual remedies, and specific risk controls protecting children. The co-signatories signal that joint or parallel enforcement actions are likely where platforms fail to meet these expectations.

The statement does not carry binding legal force as a regulation or directive, but co-signatory authorities in GPA member jurisdictions treat it as a formal expression of shared enforcement priorities. Organisations with EU-facing AI image tools must also assess compliance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the EU AI Act), which classifies certain AI systems generating manipulated audio-visual content as subject to transparency obligations under Article 50. The intersection of GDPR special-category data rules and EU AI Act transparency requirements creates a compounded compliance obligation that existing legal bases may not fully satisfy without product-level revision.

Prokopiev Law Group advises on GDPR compliance, EU AI Act obligations, and cross-border data protection enforcement across GPA member jurisdictions. Our dedicated partnership network covers regulatory engagement with data protection authorities, AI governance gap analyses, and product privacy-by-design assessments. We welcome inquiries from AI developers, platform operators, and technology companies assessing exposure under this coordinated international position — representative matters include data protection impact assessments, special-category data processing reviews, AI content moderation compliance, EU AI Act Article 50 transparency requirements, and cross-border enforcement response.

Source: European Data Protection Board, "AI-generated imagery and protection of privacy: EDPB supports joint Global Privacy Assembly's statement," 23 February 2026. Official URL: https://www.edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2026/ai-generated-imagery-and-protection-privacy-edpb-supports-joint-global-privacy_en. Date confirmed: 26 March 2026.

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