AI providers can soon sign up to the European Commission’s Code of Practice for General Purpose AI (GPAI), a voluntary set of rules aiming to help providers of AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini, comply with the AI Act.
On Thursday the Commission published the Code, less than a month before the rules on GPAI will start applying on 2 August.
The document includes three chapters: Transparency and Copyright, both addressing all providers of general-purpose AI models, and Safety and Security, relevant only to a limited number of providers of the most advanced models.
Companies that sign up are expected to be compliant with the AI Act and are expected to have more legal certainty, others will face more scrutiny from the Commission.
Providers of AI systems previously said they do not have enough time to comply before the rules kick and asked the EU executive for a grace period.
Once companies sign, they do not have to be fully compliant with new rules on 2 August, a source familiar with the issue told Euronews.
The AI Act itself – rules that regulate artificial intelligence systems according to the risk they pose to society – entered into force in August 2024 but will fully apply in 2027.
Criticism of Code of Practice
The Code of Practice on GPAI, drafted by experts appointed by the Commission, was supposed to come out in May but faced delays and heavy criticism.
Tech giants as well as publishers and rights-holders are concerned that the rules violate the EU’s Copyright laws, and restrict innovation.
Earlier this week CEOs from more than 40 European companies including ASML, Philips, Siemens and Mistral asked the Commission to impose a “two-year clock-stop” on the AI Act to give them more time to comply with the obligations on high-risk AI systems, due to take effect as of August 2026, and to obligations for GPAI models, due to enter into force this August.
A source told Euronews that the Commission is considering a possible delay of these high-risk system obligations in case the underlying standards are not ready in time. This would only apply to these specific models and not affect other parts of the Act.
The Commission and the EU member states will now need to carry out a risk assessment to check the adequacy of the Code. It remains unclear if it will be ready before the entry into force in August.
It also remains unclear how many companies will sign the code, and whether they have the possibility to adhere to just some elements of the document.
