Meta Platforms, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has decided not to sign the European Union’s (EU) new AI Code of Practice. This code is a voluntary set of guidelines meant to help tech companies follow the EU’s upcoming AI Act, which will start from August 2.
The decision was announced by Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Vice President of Global Public Policy, through a post on LinkedIn. He said that the current version of the AI Code could harm innovation and make it harder for companies to build and use AI technology in Europe.
Kaplan believes the EU is “heading down the wrong path” with this code. According to him, the rules are unclear and go beyond what the AI Act requires, creating legal confusion for AI model developers.
He also pointed out that many big European companies, including Bosch, Siemens, and Airbus, have also raised concerns. In fact, 44 major European businesses recently signed a letter asking the EU to pause the new rules, as they fear it could slow down AI progress in Europe.
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What the EU’s AI Code of Practice Says
The AI Code of Practice includes several requirements for companies that build general-purpose AI tools, like Meta’s Llama, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google’s Gemini. Some of the main rules are:
- Keeping updated documents on how AI tools are used
- Not allowing AI training using paired content (like matched text and images)
- Respecting content owners who opt out
- Doing regular risk assessments and monitoring how AI tools behave after launch
Although this code is optional, companies that sign it can benefit from clearer legal rules and less regulatory pressure from the EU.
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