The Commission has registered a citizens' initiative for a European .IA domain for sovereign AI

The Commission has registered the European Citizens' Initiative “Creation of a European Digital Space (.IA) for Sovereign AI Governance”. The organisers call on the Commission to take three steps:

– to propose an EU framework promoting “high-trust digital spaces” and testing environments (sandboxes) for ethical artificial intelligence in the EU;

– to negotiate with ISO and ICANN/IANA with a view to reserving, protecting and allocating the top-level domain .IA as an asset of European digital sovereignty;

– to ensure that the registration of the .IA domain incorporates sovereign digital identity (eIDAS 2.0), transparent algorithmic auditing (AI Act) and the protection of personal data (GDPR).

Registration only means that the initiative meets the formal conditions. The Commission has not yet assessed its substance. The organisers have six months to open the 12-month signature collection. The Commission will have to respond only if the initiative gathers at least one million valid signatures and reaches the minimum thresholds in at least seven Member States.