The EU's new transparency obligations under the AI Act came into effect on August 2nd, requiring companies to disclose when people are interacting with AI systems and if content has been generated or altered by AI. The rules distinguish between providers (companies that develop and market AI systems) and deployers (platforms that use those systems), with some companies like Meta and SpaceXAI classified as both.
Providers must design AI systems to explicitly notify users when they're dealing with AI instead of a human, "unless this is obvious," and include machine-readable marks on synthetic audio, image, video, and text. Deployers are required to label any AI-generated or manipulated deepfake content designed to look real.
The European Commission has developed optional AI disclosure labels that platforms can adopt, similar to those already introduced by TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. While the EU's icons are optional to use, the Commission notes that the underlying labeling requirements are not. Companies failing to comply risk fines of up to €15 million (about $17.2 million), or 3 percent of their global annual turnover.