The EU AI Act, effective since February 2025, has made emotion recognition AI in the workplace illegal across the European Union, imposing fines up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover for violations. Despite this, many vendors continue to sell and deploy such technology unlawfully, risking significant penalties, while the law strictly prohibits AI systems that infer employee emotions from biometric data but allows text-only sentiment analysis. Organizations using UC, CX, or employee experience software in Europe are urged to urgently verify vendor compliance and disable prohibited features to avoid imminent enforcement actions.
