What happened
The European Parliament has disabled built‑in artificial intelligence (AI) features on corporate tablets and smartphones used by lawmakers and staff, citing unresolved cybersecurity and data protection risks identified by its IT security teams.
Who is affected
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), their staff, and the devices they use for official work are directly affected; the decision also signals precautionary guidance for personal devices used for work purposes.
Why CISOs should care
This move highlights growing institutional concern over how cloud‑connected AI tools handle and transmit potentially sensitive data. It underscores the importance of understanding data flows between local devices and external AI service providers, a risk vector many organizations may be overlooking.
3 Practical Actions
- Inventory AI Use: Conduct an audit of AI features (built‑in and third‑party) on corporate devices and map what data these tools access and transmit.
- Review Data Flows: Assess where AI‑assisted processing occurs (local vs cloud) and evaluate whether sensitive or regulated data could be exposed to external systems.
- Adjust Policies: Update acceptable use and device configuration policies to restrict or disable AI features that introduce unmanaged data exposure risks.