Meta has become the first major company to refuse endorsement of the European Union’s voluntary Code of Practice for general-purpose AI (GPAI), designed to support compliance with the binding AI Act, Euractiv reports.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, announced the decision via LinkedIn, stating:
Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI.
Kaplan argued the Code creates legal ambiguities for developers and imposes requirements exceeding the AI Act’s scope.
This Code introduces a number of legal uncertainties for model developers, as well as measures which go far beyond the scope of the AI Act.
The announcement follows months of industry criticism urging the Commission to delay or revise the AI Act, with the GPAI Code’s publication repeatedly postponed before its 10 July release.
While Meta rejects the framework, France’s Mistral AI and OpenAI (creator of ChatGPT) have committed to signing. Green MEP Sergey Lagodinsky, co-rapporteur for the AI Act, dismissed Meta’s justification, noting the Code was crafted with GPAI providers’ input.
I don’t buy Meta’s claim that the Code exceeds the AI Act.
The divergence underscored ongoing tensions between tech giants and EU regulators seeking balanced AI governance.
