Meta says it won't sign the EU's AI code of practice

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced that it will not sign the European Union's (EU) new AI code of practice. The code provides a framework for the EU's AI Act, which regulates companies operating in the European Union. Although the code is voluntary, Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer, Joel Kaplan, publicly criticized it, describing it as an "over-reach" and claiming that it introduces "legal uncertainties" for model developers. This is not the first time Meta has criticized the EU's AI regulations, with the company previously calling the AI Act "unpredictable" and "hampering innovation." The EU's code of practice includes guidelines such as banning companies from training AI on pirated materials and requiring them to respect requests from writers and artists to omit their work from training data. It also requires developers to provide regularly updated documentation describing their AI features. While signing the code of practice is voluntary, it can provide companies with more legal protection against future accusations of breaching the AI Act. Companies that violate the AI Act can face hefty penalties, with the European Commission able to impose fines of up to seven percent of a company's annual sales.