Meta has refused to sign the newly introduced European Union’s voluntary Code of Practice for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, introduced a voluntary code of practice last week, and it was set to come into force on August 2. Meta, along with Microsoft, Alphabet, and Mistral AI, have pushed back on the legislation, urging the EU to delay its implementation. However, the EU refuses to change its timeline.
Now, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, Joel Kaplan, criticised the code, calling it legally uncertain and overly restrictive in a LinkedIn post. He wrote, “Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI.” Kaplan further added that Meta has carefully reviewed the European Commission’s Code of Practice for general-purpose AI models, and they won’t be signing it, as the EU’s AI Code introduces legal uncertainties for model developers and has measures that go far beyond the scope of the AI Act.
Introduced earlier this month, the voluntary framework is designed to help AI companies prepare for the bloc’s legislation for regulating AI. The code requires companies to maintain and update documentation on their AI systems, refrain from using pirated content for training, and comply with content owners’ requests to opt out of AI training datasets.
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Kaplan called the EU’s approach an “over-reach,” warning that it could throttle the development and deployment of frontier AI models in Europe and stunt European companies looking to build businesses on top of them.
He also highlighted that as many as 44 businesses and policymakers across Europe, including Bosch, Siemens, SAP, Airbus and BNP, have signed a letter urging the Commission to delay the implementation of new AI regulation.
However, the European Commission released updated guidelines on Friday stating that the companies that develop GPAI models with “systemic risk,” including Meta, must fully comply with the rules by August 2027. Businesses failing to do so “will have to demonstrate other means of compliance” or “more regulatory scrutiny,” EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier said in a statement.