Article 2(10) AI Act provides that the AI Act ‘does not apply to obligations of deployers who are natural persons using systems in the course of a purely personal non-professional activity’. The definition of deployer also excludes users engaged in such activities (see section 2.4. above). Any activity through which a natural person gains an economic benefit on a regular basis or is otherwise involved in a professional, business, trade, occupational or freelance activity should be considered as a ‘professional’ activity. The specification of ‘personal’ is a qualifier of non-professional, meaning that the person should act in both a personal and a non-professional capacity. The exclusion should therefore, for example, not encompass criminal activities since these should not be considered purely personal. For example, an individual using a facial recognition system at home (e.g. to control access and to monitor for safety the entrance to the home) would fall under the exclusion of Article 2(10) AI Actand, hence, would not be subject to the obligations for deployers under the AI Act, even in cases where it is required to transmit (parts of) the footage to law enforcement authorities. By contrast , a natural person using an AI system for professional activities such as freelancers, journalists, doctors , etc. would need to comply with the obligations for deployers of facial recognition systems under the AI Act. Any use by natural persons where they are acting on behalf or under the authority of a deployer acting in a professional capacity will also fall within the scope of the AI Act. Furthermore, criminal activities cannot be considered purely personal activities, even if no economic benefit is sought or attained . For other unlawful activities, such as non-compliance with consumer protection or data protection law and national administrative legislation, the exclusion in the AI Act applies, but the other relevant legal frameworks continue to apply).
The exclusion in Article 2(10) AI Act applies only as regards the obligations of deployers when using the system for purely personal non-professional activities. The system as such remains within the scope of the AI Act as regards the obligat i ons of providers placing the system on the market or putting it into service, other professional deployers, and other responsible actors, such as importers and distributors. For example, an emotion recognition system, if intended to be used by natural persons for purely personal non-professional activities, remain s a high-risk AI system as classified in Article 6 AI Act and must be fully in compliance with the AI Act . At the same time the deployer that uses it for purely personal non-professional use (e.g., an autistic person) will not be covered by specific obligations for deployers under the AI Act and the use would be out of scope.