AI Violations May Spur Legal Disputes by 2028
As the adoption of generative AI tools accelerates across industries, technology companies are facing growing pressure to comply with evolving regulatory frameworks and governance standards. With governments around the world introducing different approaches to AI oversight, organizations are increasingly challenged to balance innovation with legal, ethical, and security obligations.
Gartner predicts that AI regulatory violations will result in a 30% increase in legal disputes for technology companies by 2028, highlighting the rising risks associated with rapid AI deployment.
The forecast is based on a Gartner survey conducted between May and June 2025 among 360 IT leaders involved in the rollout of generative AI (GenAI) tools. More than 70% of respondents identified regulatory compliance as one of the top three challenges facing their organizations during the widespread deployment of GenAI productivity assistants.
The survey also revealed that only 23% of respondents are very confident in their organization’s ability to manage security and governance components when integrating GenAI tools into enterprise applications.
“Global AI regulations vary widely, reflecting each country’s assessment of its appropriate alignment of AI leadership, innovation and agility with risk mitigation priorities,” said Lydia Clougherty Jones, Sr. Director Analyst at Gartner. “This leads to inconsistent and often incoherent compliance obligations, complicating alignment of AI investment with demonstrable and repeatable enterprise value and possibly opening enterprises up to other liabilities.”
The report further noted that geopolitical tensions are increasingly influencing AI strategies worldwide. Fifty-seven percent of non-U.S. IT leaders surveyed stated that the geopolitical climate has at least a moderate impact on their GenAI strategy and deployment decisions, while 19% described the impact as significant.
Despite these concerns, nearly 60% of respondents indicated that they were unable or unwilling to adopt non-U.S. alternatives to GenAI tools.
AI sovereignty is also emerging as a key strategic issue. In a separate Gartner webinar poll conducted in September 2025, 40% of respondents said their organizations viewed AI sovereignty positively, while 36% reported adopting a “wait and see” approach. Additionally, 52% stated that their organizations are making strategic or operational changes directly related to sovereign AI considerations.
To reduce potential legal and operational risks, Gartner advised IT leaders to strengthen AI governance by implementing stricter moderation systems, enhancing model testing and sandboxing, developing rigorous use-case review procedures, and introducing content moderation mechanisms such as AI warning labels and abuse reporting tools.
As AI technologies become more deeply integrated into business operations, the report underscores the need for organizations to prioritize compliance, governance, and responsible AI practices. Experts believe companies that proactively address regulatory and security challenges will be better positioned to mitigate future legal disputes and maintain trust in increasingly complex digital environments.