Artificial Intelligence law at Spain
As of May 2025, Spain has enacted comprehensive legislation to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI), aligning with the European Union's AI Act and establishing a robust national framework for ethical, transparent, and human-centric AI deployment.
🇪🇸 Key Components of Spain’s AI Legal Framework
1. Draft AI Law (March 2025)
Spain's government approved a draft law imposing stringent penalties on companies that fail to label AI-generated content appropriately, aiming to combat the spread of "deepfakes." Violations can result in fines up to €35 million or 7% of a company's global annual turnover. The law also prohibits manipulative AI techniques, such as subliminal content, and bans profiling individuals based on sensitive attributes like race or political views. Enforcement will be overseen by the newly established Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (AESIA). (Reuters, euronews)
2. AI Strategy 2024
Approved in May 2024, the AI Strategy 2024 outlines Spain's roadmap for AI development over two years, with a €1.5 billion investment from the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan. The strategy focuses on:
Enhancing AI capabilities through investments in supercomputing and data infrastructure.
Promoting AI adoption in both public and private sectors, with a particular emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Ensuring AI development is transparent, ethical, and human-centric, in line with EU regulations.
A significant initiative under this strategy is the creation of ALIA, a foundational AI language model trained in Spanish and co-official languages, developed in collaboration with IBM. (Home, Global Legal Post, Garrigues)
3. Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (AESIA)
Established in August 2023, AESIA is the central regulatory body responsible for overseeing AI systems in Spain. It supervises high-risk AI applications, ensures compliance with ethical standards, and promotes public awareness and education on AI technologies. AESIA collaborates with other agencies, such as the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), to address specific areas like biometric data usage and profiling. (Garrigues, www.hoganlovells.com)
4. Organic Law 5/2024 on the Right of Defense
Enacted in December 2024, this law mandates transparency regarding AI usage in legal services. It requires digital platforms offering legal services to disclose how AI systems make recommendations or decisions, ensuring users are informed about the role of AI in legal processes. (DPA)
⚖️ Alignment with EU AI Act
Spain's AI legislation closely follows the EU's AI Act, emphasizing:
Strict transparency obligations for high-risk AI systems.
Prohibition of AI practices like social scoring and real-time biometric surveillance, except in specific serious crime scenarios.
Imposition of significant penalties for non-compliance, up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover. (Reuters, Reuters)
🔍 Looking Ahead
Spain's proactive approach to AI regulation positions it as a leader in Europe, balancing innovation with ethical considerations. The establishment of AESIA and the implementation of the AI Strategy 2024 reflect the country's commitment to fostering a responsible AI ecosystem. As AI technologies continue to evolve, Spain's legal framework will likely serve as a model for other nations seeking to navigate the complexities of AI governance.
Reuters
Reuters
Reuters
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