[European Commission Officially Granted Regulatory and Penalty Authority Over AI Models, Maximum Fine of 3% Annual Revenue for Violations] According to CNBC, the European Commission was officially granted the authority this Sunday to investigate, restrict, and impose fines on AI models, marking the latest development in the phased implementation of the 2024 EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Under the new regulations, the European Commission can require AI companies to submit evaluations before publicly releasing models in Europe and has the authority to restrict their market access within the EU. Violating companies face fines of up to €15 million or 3% of their annual revenue (whichever is higher). The new rules apply to all companies providing general-purpose AI models within the EU, regardless of where their headquarters are located. Non-EU companies must designate an authorized representative within the EU. Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are all covered under the new regulations.