What are the fines, realistically, for a small business?
The Act sets upper limits, not automatic bills.
Drafted with AI help and checked against the official EU text before publishing.
The Act sets upper limits, not automatic bills. For a small business the cap is the lower of a euro amount and a share of turnover, and the top band is for banned practices — not for a shop using a chatbot.
The top band (EUR 35 million or 7% of worldwide turnover, whichever is higher) is for banned practices in Article 5 — not for a shop using a chatbot. Other listed duties, including Article 50 transparency, sit in a lower band. Member States also set the local penalty rules, and they may use warnings.
This is general information, not legal advice. We do not guess what a first enforcement case will look like.
What the law actually says
"In the case of SMEs, including start-ups, each fine referred to in this Article shall be up to the percentages or amount referred to in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, whichever thereof is lower."— EU AI Act, Article 99(6) (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) · eur-lex.europa.eu
In plain words
- Article 99(3) sets a ceiling of EUR 35 000 000 or 7% of worldwide turnover — whichever is higher — for banned AI practices in Article 5. That is not the band for ordinary chatbot use.
- Article 99(4) sets a ceiling of EUR 15 000 000 or 3% for other listed duties, including the Article 50 transparency rules.
- Article 99(5) sets a ceiling of EUR 7 500 000 or 1% for giving wrong or incomplete information to authorities.
- For SMEs, Article 99(6) uses whichever figure is lower in each band. Member States also set the local penalty rules, and they may use warnings.
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