A new survey by Surfshark analyzes 10 independent AI-related enforcement actions conducted between 2022 and 2026. Nine of these cases focus on the same issue: "training AI systems using personal, biometric, or copyrighted data without proper consent or legal basis." Download the graph here AI-related penalties began in 2022 with three fines targeting Clearview AI. In 2023, Amazon was fined for retaining children's voice recordings used to train Alexa. Regulatory bodies intensified their actions in 2024, with measures taken in four separate cases involving Google, OpenAI, Meta, and Clearview AI. This trend continued into 2025, culminating in a $1.5 billion settlement by Anthropic, the largest in the data analyzed for this survey. Most recently, in 2026, Apple settled for $250 million. This case is the only one where the issue was not the training data itself, but rather the overstatement of AI feature performance. Dr. Louis Costa, Research Lead at Surfshark (hereinafter referred to as "Costa"), stated: "The accumulation of massive AI-related fines indicates that regulators are moving beyond mere warnings to imposing significant financial liabilities. While much of the enforcement to date has focused on the use of training data without consent, Apple's $250 million settlement for overstating AI feature performance marks a significant shift in this area. This may be just the beginning. As seen in the case of OpenAI's fine in Italy being overturned, court decisions still show variability. Nevertheless, the overall trend clearly shows that accountability is catching up with innovation. The AI industry needs to re-evaluate both how it builds AI and how it markets it." Dr. Louis Costa, Head of Research at Surfshark Since 2022, regulators and courts have imposed over $3.5 billion (approximately over 560 billion yen) in fines and settlements on seven major technology companies for AI-related violations. Of the 10 cases, Anthropic's $1.5 billion (approximately 240 billion yen