Automated Hiring Has Broken GDPR Article 22 Since 2018, EU Regulators…

EU regulators confirmed at a July 2026 European Parliament conference that automated hiring systems have been in violation of GDPR Article 22 since May 2018, not from any future AI Act deadline. HR vendors and employers now face accumulated legal exposure for any candidate screening that lacks genuine human review, with liability extending directly to the vendor if its algorithmic score materially shapes hiring decisions. If you sell HR screening software to European employers, you are now the defendant — not your customer. Eight years of retroactive liability for any scoring system where the hiring manager trusted your algorithm instead of evaluating the candidate file themselves; the regulator can demand proof they didn't.