Mexico moves to regulate AI

Morena has made the creation and approval of a comprehensive legal framework to regulate artificial intelligence in Mexico one of its priorities for the next regular legislative session. The agenda covers user privacy, cybersecurity, human rights, the ethical use of personal data and support for innovation.

The bloc expects to have draft committee reports ready during the parliamentary recess, with the goal of speeding up review and an eventual floor vote once the regular session of Congress begins on Sept. 1. According to XEU, the legislative path aligns with the agenda promoted by President Claudia Sheinbaum and is meant to sync the congressional debate with the federal government’s view of the technology.

XEU also says Mexico currently lacks a comprehensive, dedicated AI regulation, a gap that backers of the initiative cite as part of the urgency to move forward with a legal framework on the issue.

Scope of the proposal

According to an analysis published in El Universal, the Mexican proposal is partly inspired by the European Union’s AI rulebook. Among its provisions are bans on discriminatory biometric categorization systems, subliminal techniques used to manipulate vulnerable groups and state social scoring algorithms.

The same analysis says the draft classifies AI used in hiring, credit scoring, health resource allocation and criminal justice as high-risk systems. In those cases, it calls for strict audits, traceability of training data and human oversight.

The initiative also includes controlled testing environments, or regulatory sandboxes, to reduce the risk of slowing technological innovation and to help new models and applications develop under supervision. It also calls for stricter transparency requirements around the sources of data used, along with tough penalties for realistic identity impersonation, including denigrating deepfakes.

Other legislative routes underway

The AI debate is not limited to Morena’s proposal. Mexico’s presidency sent the Senate a bill to amend 217 articles, add 23 and repeal 6 from the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property, with the goal of regulating AI uses in that area for the first time.

At the same time, the federal government announced that, once the World Cup is over, it will open a national debate on AI regulation and digital platforms with participation from Congress, experts and civil society.

In San Lázaro, AI regulation is on the legislative agenda alongside other contentious bills, underscoring that the issue remains on the Congress’s agenda. In that same vein, the PT introduced a bill to explicitly include artificial intelligence in the General Education Law, with criteria for personal data protection, transparency and explainability of systems, without creating a standalone subject or assigning a specific school grade.

The PRI also announced a separate bill to impose criminal penalties for using AI to impersonate identities, commit fraud and carry out extortion, a move that is tightening the debate over criminal uses of the technology in Mexico.