EU AI 법 벌금: 3,500만 유로 벌금 부과 프레임워크
EU AI 법은 GDPR을 모델로 한 3단계 벌금 구조를 확립했지만, 상한선이 더 높습니다. 국가 기관에서 시행하며, 규정에는 금전적 벌금과 제품 철수 모두에 대한 내용이 포함되어 있습니다.
세 가지 벌금 등급
제5조 위반: 사회 점수, 잠재적 조작, 무차별적인 얼굴 인식 스크래핑, 공공장소에서 실시간 원격 생체 인식 식별(제한적인 예외 제외).
고위험 시스템 의무(로깅, 감독, 위험 관리, 기술 문서), GPAI 제공업체 의무 또는 제50조에 따른 투명성 의무를 준수하지 못한 경우.
지정된 기관 또는 관련 당국에 부정확하거나 불완전하거나 오해의 소지가 있는 정보를 제공하는 경우.
더 높은 금액이 적용됩니다. 중소기업 및 스타트업 배율을 통해 절대적인 상한선을 줄일 수 있지만, 매출 비율 상한선은 줄이지 않습니다.
GDPR과 비교
GDPR의 4%/2,000만 유로 상한선으로 인해 2018년 이후 10억 유로가 넘는 벌금이 부과된 사례가 여러 건 있었습니다(Meta, Amazon, Google, TikTok). EU AI 법의 7%/3,500만 유로 상한선은 훨씬 더 높으며, 정치적 추진력은 시행이 관대하지 않을 것임을 시사합니다.
준수하지 않을 경우 발생하는 실제 비용
- 직접적인 벌금(위)
- AI 시스템의 강제적인 시장 철수
- 평판 손상 및 고객 이탈
- 회원국의 민사 소송(개인적인 소송 권리)
- 투자자의 면밀한 검토 및 인수 실사 지연
How AIAgentree reduces enforcement risk
Most Tier 2 penalties target the exact obligations AIAgentree is built to evidence — logging, human oversight, and risk management. Tamper-evident records turn 'we comply' into 'here is the proof' when an authority asks.
- Tamper-evident decision records give you the automatic, timestamped Article 12 audit trail authorities ask for first — a missing trail is a common trigger for high-risk (Tier 2) findings.
- Human-oversight and approval workflows document Article 14 intervention and sign-off, so oversight is demonstrable rather than merely asserted.
- Audit-fit retention (6 months or longer) with export on demand means you can answer a competent authority quickly, before an information request escalates into an Article 99 penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum fine under the EU AI Act?
The highest tier is up to €35 million or 7% of total worldwide annual turnover for the preceding financial year, whichever is higher. It applies to breaches of the Article 5 prohibited-practice ban (for example social scoring or untargeted facial-recognition scraping). Lower tiers apply to other obligations: up to €15M / 3% for high-risk, GPAI and transparency failures, and up to €7.5M / 1% for supplying incorrect information to authorities.
How do EU AI Act fines compare to GDPR?
The ceiling is materially higher. GDPR caps administrative fines at €20 million or 4% of worldwide turnover, while the EU AI Act's top tier reaches €35 million or 7%. GDPR enforcement has already produced billion-euro penalties, so the higher AI Act ceiling signals that regulators expect substantial fines for the most serious violations.
Who enforces EU AI Act fines?
National market surveillance authorities designated by each member state impose penalties on providers and deployers, and set the actual amount case-by-case. For general-purpose AI model obligations, the European Commission's AI Office enforces directly. The EU AI Act sets the ceilings; national law and authorities determine the final fine.
Are SMEs and start-ups fined differently?
Yes. Under Article 99(6), for SMEs and start-ups each fine is capped at the lower of the fixed amount or the percentage of turnover — the reverse of the 'whichever is higher' rule that applies to larger undertakings. Authorities must also take an operator's size and economic viability into account when setting the amount.
Can EU AI Act fines stack on top of other penalties?
A single course of conduct can breach several obligations, and authorities set penalties per infringement while considering gravity and duration. Administrative fines are also without prejudice to other consequences — forced withdrawal of the system from the market, and civil litigation in member states that provide private rights of action. So monetary fines are rarely the only cost of non-compliance.
Continue exploring the EU AI Act guide
EU AI Act Compliance Guide
The complete guide to EU AI Act compliance for AI agents — start here.
Article 12 — Record-Keeping & Logging
What every high-risk AI system must log, and how to capture it.
Article 14 — Human Oversight
Designing effective human-in-the-loop controls for AI decisions.
Annex III — High-Risk AI Systems
Which AI use cases the Act classifies as high-risk.
EU AI Act Compliance Checklist
A step-by-step checklist to reach and document compliance.
Compliance Cost Calculator
Estimate your EU AI Act compliance effort and cost.
Deadlines & Timeline
Key enforcement dates, including the August 2, 2026 deadline.
Transparency Obligations (Art. 13 & 50)
Disclosure duties for AI systems and their outputs.
Risk Management & Conformity Assessment
Build a risk management system and assess conformity.
GPAI Obligations
Rules for providers of general-purpose AI models.
EU AI Act for US Companies
Extraterritorial scope and what US providers must do.
Omnibus Update
The latest changes to the EU AI Act timeline and rules.
Penalty Calculator
Estimate your maximum fine under the Article 99 tiers.
Article 11 + Annex IV
What technical documentation the EU AI Act requires.
Article 26: Deployer Obligations
What deployers of high-risk AI must do, including log retention.
Article 17: Quality Management
The QMS providers of high-risk AI must document.
Article 10: Data Governance
Data quality, bias mitigation, and governance duties.
Article 4: AI Literacy
The staff AI-literacy duty in force since February 2025.
Deployer vs Provider
Who bears which obligation — and when a deployer becomes a provider.
FRIA (Article 27)
Who must run a Fundamental Rights Impact Assessment, and how.
Who Does It Apply To?
Scope, operators, and the extraterritorial reach of the EU AI Act.
Post-Market Monitoring
Articles 72–73: ongoing monitoring and incident reporting.
ISO 42001 vs EU AI Act
How the voluntary standard and the binding law fit together.
NIST AI RMF vs EU AI Act
A practical crosswalk between the framework and the law.
EU AI Act for Healthcare
High-risk medical AI, MDR/IVDR interplay, and clinician oversight.
EU AI Act for Financial Services
Credit scoring, insurance pricing, and existing financial regulation.
EU AI Act for HR & Employment
Hiring AI as high-risk, plus NYC LL144 and EEOC overlap.