Global AI Law and Policy Tracker: Highlights and takeaways

The race to dominate the data and infrastructure that powers artificial intelligence is paired with a race to create law and policy that facilitates control over this technological revolution. The passage of the EU AI Act in 2024 signaled a high-water mark in comprehensive legislation governing AI, though a more recent trend has been to temper regulatory limits on the technology in the name of competition and innovation. As the updated Global AI Law and Policy Tracker demonstrates, many nations continue to debate impactful policies, testing new governance models as the risks and rewards of AI investments are revealed daily.

A steady stream of legislation

While the EU considers putting a pause on the implementation of part of its AI Act, other countries are progressing efforts to pass new AI legislation. For example, South Korea finalized its AI Framework Act in January 2025, which strengthens transparency and safety requirements and offers various promotional measures, such as support for research and development and for AI adoption and workforce preparation. Likewise, Japan enacted the AI Promotion Act in May 2025, a light touch regulation that encourages companies to cooperate with government safety measures and empowers the government to publicly disclose the names of companies that use AI to violate human rights. Furthermore, China promulgated its AI Labeling Rules, which generally require service providers, as defined by China's existing suite of AI regulations, to add both explicit and implicit labels to AI-generated content.