The EU AI Act in Latvia

Per Latvia - AI Centre Establishment

• Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development — Supervising ministry for delegated state administration tasks; responsible for founding and registering the Centre.
• State Digital Development Agency (Valsts digitālās attīstības aģentūra) — Provides Secretariat functions to the Centre (IT, legal support, procurement, record‑keeping, information security).
• Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia — Issue implementing regulations for the special regulatory environment and data processing procedures as required by the Law.
• Register authority of Associations and Foundations (Register of Associations and Foundations) — Register foundations and associations; process the Centre’s registration application.

Per Latvia - AI Development Law (2025)

• Ministry of Smart Governance and Regional Development (Viedās administrācijas un reģionālās attīstības ministrija) — Lead ministry responsible for drafting and coordinating national AI policy under the Act; oversight and cooperation with the AI Centre.
• Saeima (Parliament of the Republic of Latvia) — Legislative authority that adopted the Act and receives reports from the Centre; parliamentary committees retain oversight functions.
• Mākslīgā intelekta centrs (AI Centre) — Operational coordinating entity established by the Act to implement national AI policy, manage projects and convene stakeholders.
• Sectoral supervisory authorities (e.g. Data State Inspectorate) — Existing regulators responsible for enforcing data protection, consumer protection, financial and health regulations applicable to AI systems in their sectors.

Per Latvia - AI Use in Campaigning (2024)

• Korupcijas novēršanas un apkarošanas birojs (KNAB) — Primary enforcement authority for assessing AI‑related pre‑election agitation violations, issuing prohibition/removal orders and publishing decisions.
• Saeima (Parliament of the Republic of Latvia) — Legislative authority that adopted the amendments and may review or amend the statutory framework.
• Centrālā vēlēšanu komisija (Central Election Commission, CVK) — Administrative authority for election organisation; coordinates with KNAB and ensures integrity of election procedures.
• Latvijas Vēstnesis — Official publisher (gazette) that publishes promulgated laws and official notices; provides authoritative record of promulgation.
• Datu valsts inspekcija (Data State Inspectorate) — Supervisory authority for data protection and privacy matters that may arise from AI‑driven processing of personal data in campaigns.

Per Latvia - Criminalising Deepfake Use (90.1/2024)

• Saeima (Parliament of Latvia) — Legislative authority that proposed, debated and adopted the amendment; custodian of legislative records and explanatory materials.
• Ģenerālprokuratūra (Prosecutor's Office of Latvia) — Responsible for prosecuting criminal offences under Article 90.1 and for issuing prosecutorial guidance.
• Valsts policija (State Police) — Investigative lead on digital offences, evidence preservation and forensics in offences under the Criminal Law.
• Korupcijas novēršanas un apkarošanas birojs (KNAB) — Investigates high-level corruption and political financing matters that may intersect with deepfake-driven interference.

Per Latvia - Data Governance Strategy

• Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) — Coordinating ministry for digital transformation and national data governance policy
• Valsts reģionālās attīstības aģentūra (VRAA) — Designated operator/manager for DAGR platform implementation and technical operation
• Data State Inspectorate (Datu valsts inspekcija, DVI) — National data protection authority — supervises personal data compliance and handles complaints/enforcement under GDPR and national law
• CERT.LV — National incident response and cybersecurity coordination for public-sector information systems
• Cabinet of Ministers (Ministru kabinets) — Strategic oversight, adoption of implementation plans and approval of ministerial rules

Per Latvia - Digital Transformation Guidelines (Rīkojums Nr. 490/2021)

• Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) — Lead authority for drafting and coordinating the Digital Transformation Guidelines and preparing the implementation plan.
• Cabinet of Ministers (Ministru kabinets) — Approving authority for the Guidelines and responsible for high‑level oversight and budgetary decisions.
• State Chancellery (Valsts kanceleja / Government coordination) — Coordination and monitoring of cross‑sector implementation and public administration reform alignment.
• Public Utilities Commission (SPRK) — Regulates electronic communications, broadband infrastructure and market oversight related to connectivity objectives.
• Data State Inspectorate (Datu valsts inspekcija / DVI) — Data protection supervisory authority overseeing compliance with data privacy and personal data processing obligations.

Per Latvia - AI Development Report (2020)

• Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) — Lead coordinating authority for integrating AI actions into national digital policy and e-index updates
• Cabinet of Ministers (Ministru kabinets) — Policy approver and oversight body for national planning documents
• Data State Inspectorate (Datu valsts inspekcija) — Advisory and supervisory role for data protection and GDPR compliance in AI deployments

Per Latvia - National AI Strategy

• Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) — Lead coordinating ministry for AI strategy implementation and reporting.
• Cabinet of Ministers (Ministru kabinets) — Approving authority and oversight via Cabinet tasks and mandates.
• State Chancellery — Policy coordination support and inter-ministerial cooperation facilitation.

Per Latvia - AI Centre Establishment

• Exclusion from participation in the special regulatory environment for persons specified in the Law (sanctioned entities, entities with prohibited foreign decisive influence, merchants with recent criminal sanctions).
• Contractual termination or recovery of property or funding if the Centre fails to comply with agreements governing transfers or free‑use of property.
• Appeal and judicial review of administrative acts issued by the Centre under the Administrative Procedure Law (judicial remedies rather than new administrative fines in the Law itself).
• Potential enforcement actions and sanctions under other applicable Latvian laws (e.g., data protection, criminal law) where breaches occur outside the administrative appeal framework.
• Reputational and funding consequences (loss of access to Centre projects, ineligibility for state or Centre funding) for non‑compliant entities.

Per Latvia - AI Development Law (2025)

• The Act itself establishes institutional and coordination functions and does not primarily create new administrative sanctions for AI system operators; enforcement of unlawful AI deployment remains governed by existing sectoral, administrative and criminal law.
• Standard public funding accountability rules apply to recipients of state grants administered under the Act, including audit, recovery of misused funds and administrative remedies.
• Where Centre activities intersect with regulated sectors (healthcare, finance, transport, etc.), existing sectoral enforcement regimes and penalties remain applicable.

Per Latvia - AI Use in Campaigning (2024)

• KNAB may issue binding administrative decisions prohibiting further dissemination of AI‑generated pre‑election agitation materials (Article 31¹).
• Failure to comply with a KNAB removal order may expose the responsible entity to additional administrative sanctions available under the Pre‑election Agitation Law and related administrative procedures.
• Separate administrative fines or sanctions for violations of electoral advertising rules remain applicable under existing law; criminal liability may arise under other statutes where criminal elements (e.g., fraud, impersonation) are present.
• Public publication of KNAB decisions serves as reputational sanction and a transparency‑based enforcement mechanism.
• Judicial remedies are available via administrative court appeal, but appeals do not suspend KNAB decisions.

Per Latvia - Criminalising Deepfake Use (90.1/2024)

• Imprisonment for a term of up to five years for aggravated offences (automated systems or serious interference with democratic processes).
• Temporary deprivation of liberty, probation supervision, or community service as alternative custodial or non-custodial sanctions.
• Exclusion of standalone monetary fines in certain aggravated automated-system offences, per adopted legislative redaction.
• Criminal investigation, prosecution and potential confiscation measures under general criminal law where applicable.
• Victim remedies available through criminal justice processes and concurrent civil remedies (defamation or reputational harm) unaffected by criminal statute.

Per Latvia - Data Governance Strategy

• Referral to Data State Inspectorate (DVI) for potential administrative fines or corrective orders under GDPR and national Personal Data Processing Law
• Administrative accountability and internal sanctions for agencies failing to fulfil statutory data stewardship duties
• Contract-based remedies (liquidated damages, termination rights) for third-party processors who breach access terms
• Reputational remedies via mandatory public reporting of breaches and corrective measures

Per Latvia - Digital Transformation Guidelines (Rīkojums Nr. 490/2021)

• The Guidelines themselves are a policy instrument and do not directly create new criminal sanctions; enforcement derives from applicable statutory regimes (e.g. administrative sanctions under sectoral laws).
• Failure to meet obligations in sectoral implementing rules or contractual conditions may result in reallocation or suspension of funding, administrative corrective actions, or sanctions provided under existing laws.
• Data protection breaches remain subject to administrative fines and corrective measures under applicable privacy law enforced by the Data State Inspectorate.
• Telecommunications or public utilities regulatory non‑compliance may trigger sanctions or remedial orders from the Public Utilities Commission under sectoral law.

Per Latvia - AI Development Report (2020)

• The informative report itself does not establish administrative or criminal penalties; it is a non-binding policy and planning instrument.
• Where ministries or agencies fail to implement assigned preparatory tasks, oversight will proceed via reporting requirements and potential follow-up by the Cabinet or audit bodies, but no direct sanctions are created by the report.
• Compliance with existing binding legal obligations (e.g., GDPR, sectoral safety regulations) remains mandatory and sanctions for violations continue to be governed by those binding instruments.

Per Latvia - National AI Strategy

• The 2020 strategy is non-binding and does not prescribe administrative penalties; compliance is driven by planning obligations and integration into subsequent binding instruments.
• Failure to implement tasks may result in removal from Cabinet task registers, corrective instructions or future regulatory measures under sectoral law.
• Reputational and governance consequences for public bodies that do not follow mandated coordination and reporting requirements.