EU AI Act Makes Labels Mandatory for Realistic AI Content

The European Union's AI Act transparency requirements take effect on 2 August for new AI systems, requiring disclosures and digital watermarks for realistic AI-generated text, images, audio and video. Existing systems have four additional months to comply, while certain personal, artistic, satirical and fictional content is exempt. The rules create material compliance exposure, with potential fines of up to €15 million or 3% of worldwide turnover, and build on labeling tools already used by major technology platforms. Industry groups support identifying deceptive synthetic content but dispute whether EU guidance may extend disclosure duties too broadly into ordinary commercial uses.