On Monday, February 17, 2026, the European Parliament announced to all its members and staff that it had decided to ban the use of built-in AI features on official devices. This move was prompted by mounting concerns regarding cybersecurity and potential vulnerabilities in data protection. The official communication, delivered via email, highlighted that certain AI assistants rely on cloud services to handle tasks that could otherwise be processed locally. Consequently, this results in data being transmitted beyond the confines of the devices themselves, sparking apprehensions about possible data breaches. The AI features subject to this ban encompass built-in functions like writing assistants and content summarization tools. However, everyday utilities such as apps, email services, and calendars are not impacted by this decision. Additionally, the Parliament urged its members to exercise similar caution and implement comparable safeguards on their personal devices.