THE EQUILIBRIUM JOURNAL / EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
The AI Act enters an operational phase, with Commission guidance on prohibited practices.
1–28 February 2025
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What happened
2–4 February 2025 · European Union
Prohibitions and interpretation must be distinguished
Rules apply; guidance issued
The AI Act’s prohibited-practice provisions and AI-literacy obligations began applying on 2 February. On 4 February, the Commission published guidance on prohibited practices such as specified manipulation, social scoring and biometric uses. The guidance is non-binding; authoritative interpretation ultimately belongs to the courts.
Source: European Commission · Prohibited AI practices guidance, 4 February 2025 ↗
The Malaysian lens
For a Malaysian team supplying or deploying AI in the EU, a system’s marketing label is less useful than its actual function. Our interpretation: review what the tool infers, whom it targets and how it influences decisions. A training session cannot make a prohibited use permissible; conversely, not every AI application falls into a prohibited category.
QUESTION TO ASK
Has someone reviewed the actual use case against the legal definitions and exceptions, rather than relying on a vendor’s general assurance?
Watch / next step
Record the system purpose, affected users and escalation route. This edition reports the February 2025 position; later reforms must be checked separately when making a current deployment decision.
Further source notes
Sources checked on 20 September 2026. Official sources are preferred; news reports are identified as such. Maintained source pages may contain later updates. Check the enacted text, applicable jurisdiction and current position before acting. General information, not legal advice.
