EU moves to expand AI reporting and adjust compliance deadlines

Europe has introduced two AI governance developments that will affect how companies build, deploy and oversee AI in 2026. The EU’s AI Act Whistleblower Tool is now online, allowing people professionally connected to an AI model provider to report risky or unlawful practices involving general-purpose AI models and certain regulated AI systems.

Reports can be filed anonymously in any EU language through a secure inbox, with supporting documents and follow-up questions supported. The AI Office will keep submissions confidential, but statutory protection against retaliation for AI Act infringement reports applies only from 2 August 2026. Until then, protection depends on whether the issue falls under the existing Whistleblower Directive, including areas such as consumer protection, product safety, data protection and security.

The Commission also proposed the “Digital Omnibus on AI” on 19 November 2025 to adjust and streamline the AI Act before it fully applies on 2 August 2026. Proposed changes include delaying high-risk AI requirements until harmonised standards are published, extending GenAI transparency obligations such as watermarking by six months to 2 February 2027, broadening bias-mitigation exemptions for sensitive data processing, removing registration duties for non-high-risk systems in Annex III and giving the AI Office exclusive oversight of systems built on general-purpose AI models.

Feedback on the proposal is open until 11 March 2026. Companies may need to reassess internal whistleblowing procedures, implementation plans and governance for systems based on general-purpose AI models.