ANEC is the European consumer voice in standardisation.
As one of only three EU-appointed not for profit organisations able to directly intervene in standardisation processes, ANEC represents the consumer interest of all Europeans in the creation and application of technical standards, market surveillance and enforcement, accreditation, and conformity assessment schemes.
ANEC works with European Standardisation bodies CEN-CENELEC and ETSI to directly shape the standards that will underpin key European laws and public policies for consumers.
With this grant, ANEC will strengthen how it shapes trustworthy and consumer-centred AI standards. ANEC will engage AI technologists to participate and comment on AI standards and provide expert input, comments, and recommendations to ANEC’s Digital Society Working Group and the AI Taskforce.
The ANEC AI Taskforce will coordinate positions, exchange expertise and prepare contributions to AI standardisation work. ANEC will continue to actively represent consumers’ voices in the JTC 21 plenary meetings. These actions will reinforce ANEC’s advocacy in building a transparent and inclusive AI standardisation framework.
To ensure consumer needs are considered in the AI Act, ANEC set up an AI Taskforce for consumer professionals to inform its standards. Comprising nine members across eight countries (Austria, Germany, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Greece, Spain and Italy), the taskforce is building capacity among consumer professionals to engage in AI standardisation at national level.
ANEC strengthened the consumer and civil society voice in AI standardisation, as part of the AI Act implementation. This helped ensure that consumer perspectives were shared around high-risk AI systems affecting health, safety and fundamental rights, even under tight deadlines.
ANEC engaged a consumer AI expert to inform the AI standardisation process, both at a technical and policy levels. ANEC contributed to the AI legislative process by drafting standards and helping consumer and civil society advocates translate consumer protection demands into practical technical asks.
