DefinitionIn forcev1.0.0

Operator

The umbrella term for all six roles in the chain, and not the person operating the controls.

The official source remains authoritative. This is general information about obligations and not legal advice. See this object on the map

Address and citation

This object has an address of its own that is never renamed or reused. Store the identifier in your own file, not the title or the link.

Identifier: praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-operator
Payload hash (sha256): 9b6f7e5b05a7c4b4fb0ecd210e6a6d585a78ef0309b31a7358b91e81e90dcc6c

Citation line

Praxikon, "Operator", praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-operator@1.0.0, dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0), effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-14T00:00:00.000Z, sha256 9b6f7e5b05a7c4b4fb0ecd210e6a6d585a78ef0309b31a7358b91e81e90dcc6c

Version: 1.0.0
Legal time (effective_at): 8 August 2026
Knowledge time (known_at): 8 August 2026
Closed on: Not closed
Application date: 2 February 2025
Topics: definitions

Review status: Placed against the official source (8 August 2026). Next check due by 4 February 2027. The check date is the knowledge date of this version; no later recheck has been recorded.

What this object links to

Every relation appears below as a path: from the source with its locator, through the conditions and exceptions of the object carrying the relation, to the consequence. A locator belongs to a statement in the data and not to a relation, so the source is the source anchor of the carrying object.

What this object is about

5 of 5 shown

The object is about this role. Undifferentiated: it does not follow that the duty rests on this role.

Source
Official fact on this object, with its locator.
- EU Artificial Intelligence Act 2024/1689
  Locator: Article 3(8)
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689
  Open official source
Via
No condition or exception recorded on this object.
Consequence
- ActorAuthorised representative
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:authorised-representative
- ActorDeployer
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:deployer
- ActorDistributor
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:distributor
- ActorImporter
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:importer
- ActorProvider of an AI system
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:provider

What this object states

Official fact

Attributable to a named primary source, with a locator. Where they differ, the official source prevails.

Article 3(8) defines an operator as a provider, product manufacturer, deployer, authorised representative, importer or distributor.
- Locator: Article 3(8)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689Open official source

Our interpretation

Our own reading. It can change without the law changing, and it is not the position of a supervisory authority.

Operator is read as the person who operates the system day to day. That is precisely what it does not mean. It is an umbrella term: where a provision addresses operators, it addresses all six listed roles at once. Anyone who skips operator obligations in a gap analysis because they believe they are only a deployer misses provisions that do apply to them. Note also that product manufacturer appears in this list as a role but is not separately defined in Article 3.
- Locator: Article 3(8)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689Open official source

Recommended step

A practical step we consider appropriate. Not an obligation following from the Regulation.

Add an operator column to your compliance overview that spells out the six roles explicitly, so that for each provision it is visible which roles are affected. Record per AI system every role your organisation holds for that specific system, because there is usually more than one.
- Locator: Article 3(8)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689Open official source

When this applies

No condition recorded on this object.

When this does not apply

No exception recorded on this object.

Referring to this object

Citation block

Copy this reference into your advice, article or file. The identifier, the version and the hash keep the statement findable later, even once the dataset has moved on.

Reference

Praxikon, "Operator",
praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-operator@1.0.0,
dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0),
effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z,
sha256 9b6f7e5b05a7c4b4fb0ecd210e6a6d585a78ef0309b31a7358b91e81e90dcc6c,
https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/definition/definitie-operator
(https://www.praxikon.com/api/v1/entities?id=praxikon%3Aeu%3Aai-act%3Adefinition%3Adefinitie-operator&effective_at=2026-08-08&known_at=2026-08-08&lang=en, accessed 2026-08-23)

Short form

praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-operator@1.0.0 (sha256 9b6f7e5b)

BibTeX

@misc{praxikon-eu-ai-act-definition-definitie-operator-1-0-0,
  author       = {{Praxikon}},
  title        = {Operator},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {1.0.0},
  number       = {praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-operator},
  howpublished = {AI Act Change \& Evidence Graph, dataset 2.1.0, schema 1.4.0},
  note         = {effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; sha256 9b6f7e5b05a7c4b4fb0ecd210e6a6d585a78ef0309b31a7358b91e81e90dcc6c},
  url          = {https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/definition/definitie-operator},
  urldate      = {2026-08-23},
  language     = {en}
}

CSL JSON

[
  {
    "id": "praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-operator@1.0.0",
    "type": "dataset",
    "title": "Operator",
    "container-title": "AI Act Change & Evidence Graph",
    "publisher": "Praxikon",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "number": "praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-operator",
    "URL": "https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/definition/definitie-operator",
    "language": "en",
    "issued": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          2026,
          8,
          8
        ]
      ]
    },
    "accessed": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          2026,
          8,
          23
        ]
      ]
    },
    "note": "dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0; schema 1.4.0; effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; sha256 9b6f7e5b05a7c4b4fb0ecd210e6a6d585a78ef0309b31a7358b91e81e90dcc6c; retrieved_from https://www.praxikon.com/api/v1/entities?id=praxikon%3Aeu%3Aai-act%3Adefinition%3Adefinitie-operator&effective_at=2026-08-08&known_at=2026-08-08&lang=en; licence https://www.praxikon.com/nl/legal/terms"
  }
]

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