European Commission publishes Code of Practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content
The European Commission has released a voluntary Code of Practice designed to help AI providers and deployers comply with upcoming transparency requirements for AI-generated and AI-manipulated content.
The European Commission has published the final Code of Practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content, providing guidance on how organisations can comply with transparency obligations under the EU AI Act.
The voluntary code is intended to support implementation of AI Act requirements that will become applicable on 2 August 2026. Under those rules, deepfakes and AI-generated or AI-manipulated content published on matters of public interest must be clearly labelled. Users must also be informed when interacting with AI systems such as chatbots.
The code was drafted by six independent experts with input from more than 180 stakeholders, including AI providers, businesses, academic institutions, public authorities, and civil society organisations.
One section of the code focuses on providers of generative AI systems. It outlines measures for ensuring that AI-generated audio, images, video, and text can be identified through machine-readable markers and other detection mechanisms.
A second section addresses deployers of generative AI systems. It explains how organisations using AI tools should label deepfakes and AI-generated or AI-manipulated content intended to inform the public, particularly where there is no meaningful human review or editorial oversight.
According to the Commission, the code complements broader AI Act provisions covering general-purpose AI models and high-risk AI systems.
The code is now open for signatures. The Commission said that, once approved by both the Commission and the AI Board, organisations that sign the code will be able to use it as a means of demonstrating compliance with the relevant transparency obligations under the AI Act.
The Commission also plans to publish additional guidelines clarifying the scope of the legal requirements and addressing issues not covered by the code before the transparency obligations take effect on 2 August 2026.
Read full text: Code of practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content
