Official name: Proposed Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive (withdrawn before adoption)
Citation: European Commission proposal of 2022, document 496; ordinary legislative procedure 2022/0303; withdrawn by the Commission in 2025
Year / status: Proposal. Tabled 28 September 2022. Withdrawn in 2025 (European Parliament Legislative Observatory: withdrawn 6 October 2025).
What it does
The withdrawn directive would have adapted fault-based national tort rules: disclosure of evidence about high-risk AI and, in some cases, a presumption of causality so injured people would have a path through the evidence. It was written to sit beside the Artificial Intelligence Act for fault-based claims.
Where it applies / status
Fault-based artificial-intelligence claims in the EU now go through national tort law. The revised Product Liability Directive (EU) 2024/2853 treats software, including AI, as a product for strict product liability and must be transposed by 9 December 2026. That Directive is enacted. The withdrawn proposal and that Directive are separate instruments.
Documented benefits or intended effects
Intended effect of the proposal: make compensation realistic when an opaque system causes harm. With the proposal withdrawn, courts have no case law under an Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive.
Caveats
The Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive was withdrawn on 6 October 2025. Product-liability rules are being rewritten to include software. The withdrawn text remains a proposal.
Sources
European Parliament Legislative Observatory file 2022/0303; Commission proposal of 2022; EUR-Lex text of Directive 2024/2853, the enacted product-liability instrument.
- European Parliament Legislative Observatory: procedure 2022/0303 (withdrawn)
- European Commission proposal of 2022, document 496 (historical)
- EUR-Lex: Product Liability Directive (EU) 2024/2853 (enacted product-liability instrument)