Regulationsby GlyphProduct Liability Directive
Enacted European Union · In force Dec 8, 2024 · next deadline Dec 9, 2026 (in 43 days)
Deadlines
Coming up
Transposition deadline; old PLD repealedMember States must transpose by 9 Dec 2026 (Art 22). Directive 85/374/EEC is repealed from that date but still applies to products placed on the market before it (Art 21).
Already passed
New PLD enters into forceDirective entered into force on the twentieth day after publication in the OJ on 18 Nov 2024 (Art 23).
Summaries for reference, not legal advice. Check the official text.
What it does
Modernises EU strict (no-fault) liability for defective products. Software (including AI systems and SaaS), digital manufacturing files and related digital services now count as products. Destruction or corruption of non-professional data is compensable damage, and missing security updates or cybersecurity vulnerabilities can make a product defective. Courts can order evidence disclosure and presume defectiveness in complex cases.
- Who it applies to
- Manufacturers (including software developers and AI providers), importers, authorised representatives, fulfilment service providers and, in some cases, distributors and online platforms, for products placed on the EU market on or after 9 Dec 2026. Free and open-source software supplied outside a commercial activity is excluded.
- Penalties
- Civil liability: compensation for death, personal injury, damage to property and destruction/corruption of data. No regulatory fines. Claims expire 10 years after placing on the market (25 years for latent personal injury).
- Enforced by
- National courts (private claims by injured persons)
- Official name
- Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on liability for defective products (new Product Liability Directive)
- Citation
- OJ L, 2024/2853, 18.11.2024
- Topics
- AI, Cybersecurity
Verified 2026-09-22
Research notes
The companion AI Liability Directive proposal was withdrawn by the Commission (2025 work programme); it is not covered here.
Related
Cyber Resilience ActSets mandatory cybersecurity requirements for hardware and software products with digital elements sold in the EU: secure by design, vulnerability handling, security updates for the support period, SBOMs, and CE marking after conformity assessment. Manufacturers must report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents to CSIRTs and ENISA from 11 Sep 2026.Next: Dec 11, 2027 CRA fully applies · in 13 monthsDORAHarmonised ICT risk-management, major ICT-incident reporting, digital operational resilience testing (including threat-led penetration testing) and ICT third-party risk rules for EU financial entities. Financial entities must keep a register of all ICT third-party contracts. Critical ICT third-party providers (cloud, data centres and similar) come under direct EU oversight.In effect since Jan 16, 2023Data Governance ActSets conditions for re-use of protected public-sector data (personal data, trade secrets, IP) and creates a notification and neutrality regime for data intermediation services. It also sets up voluntary registration of 'recognised data altruism organisations'. Data intermediaries must stay neutral, separate the intermediation service from other services and notify a competent authority.In effect since Jun 23, 2022Digital Markets ActImposes ex-ante do's and don'ts on designated gatekeepers. Examples: no combining personal data across services without consent, no self-preferencing, interoperability, data portability, and business-user data access. Gatekeepers must notify all acquisitions and submit an audited description of consumer profiling techniques.In effect since Nov 1, 2022Digital Omnibus (data/GDPR)Commission proposal to simplify EU digital rules. It would amend the GDPR (personal data definition, processing for AI, a new cookie/terminal-equipment consent regime in Art 88a/88b, breach notification only for high-risk breaches within 96 hours) and the ePrivacy Directive, NIS2, CER Directive and Data Act. A single-entry point would handle incident reporting, and the Data Governance Act, Free Flow Regulation, Platform-to-Business Regulation and Open Data Directive would be repealed and merged into the Data Act. The AI Act part was split out and adopted separately as Regulation (EU) 2026/1744.No date setDigital Services ActLayered obligations for intermediary services: notice-and-action for illegal content, statements of reasons, complaint handling, transparency reporting, and ad and recommender transparency. Profiling-based ads to minors and ads based on sensitive data are banned. Very large online platforms and search engines (45M+ EU users) must also run annual systemic-risk assessments and audits and give researchers data access.Next: Feb 18, 2027 DSA SME impact report · in 4 monthsEU AI ActA risk-based product-safety regime for AI. It bans certain AI practices, imposes strict requirements on high-risk AI systems (risk management, data governance, documentation, human oversight, conformity assessment), sets transparency duties for chatbots, deepfakes and AI-generated content, and sets obligations for general-purpose AI model providers. The Digital Omnibus on AI (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force 27 July 2026) pushed the high-risk dates back to 2 December 2027 (Annex III) and 2 August 2028 (Annex I). It also softened the AI literacy duty and added bans on non-consensual sexual deepfakes and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) generation.Next: Dec 2 New bans on sexual deepfakes and CSAM generation; Art 50(2) grace period ends · in 36 daysEU CSAM Interim RegulationLets providers of number-independent interpersonal communications services, such as messaging and email, voluntarily scan for and report online child sexual abuse despite ePrivacy confidentiality rules, under strict conditions. It replaces Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, which expired on 2026-04-03. The permanent CSA Regulation proposed in 2022 is still not adopted.Next: Feb 1, 2028 Commission implementation report · in 15 months
Questions about Product Liability Directive
- What are the Product Liability Directive compliance deadlines?
- Dec 8, 2024: New PLD enters into force. Dec 9, 2026: Transposition deadline; old PLD repealed.
- When does Product Liability Directive take effect?
- Product Liability Directive took effect on Dec 8, 2024. The next milestone is Dec 9, 2026: Transposition deadline; old PLD repealed.
- Who does Product Liability Directive apply to?
- Manufacturers (including software developers and AI providers), importers, authorised representatives, fulfilment service providers and, in some cases, distributors and online platforms, for products placed on the EU market on or after 9 Dec 2026. Free and open-source software supplied outside a commercial activity is excluded.
- What are the penalties under Product Liability Directive?
- Civil liability: compensation for death, personal injury, damage to property and destruction/corruption of data. No regulatory fines. Claims expire 10 years after placing on the market (25 years for latent personal injury).