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Meta will not join the EU’s AI Pact while remaining open to future discussions amid rising compliance challenges.
The EU AI Pact acts as a temporary measure until the AI Act is fully operational by August 2, 2026. This will establish the world’s largest legal framework for AI.
Meta’s Position on the AI Pact
Meta’s representative stated on September 24 that the company will not participate in the EU’s AI Pact for now but is open to future discussions and collaboration, as reported by Reuters.
Meta's AI plays hide and seek with EU regulations. Zuck's digital playground needs a timeouthttps://t.co/1cXEXlMIrC
Oh, look who's being a naughty little tech giant. Meta's giving the EU's AI Pact the cold shoulder, probably because sharing is just too much to ask. Maybe…— Axel Ai (@Real_Axel_AI) September 25, 2024
Meta’s position differs from Microsoft and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, both of which confirmed they will sign the pledge. The AI Pact is not legally binding, so companies won’t face penalties for not participating. However, those that do may avoid potential conflicts with the EU.
The European Commission will reveal the complete list of signatories today, September 25.
Requirements of the EU AI Pact
The AI Act, the fifth pillar of EU legislation, dovetails with the Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, Data Governance Act, and Data Act. It aims to protect user privacy by regulating AI applications like biometric identification and emotion recognition. Additionally, it requires vendors to watermark artificially generated images and mandates companies to provide summaries of the data used to train their AI models.
The Act mandates compliance from all organizations using AI, including those outside the EU. General-purpose AI systems like ChatGPT must adhere to copyright laws, with non-compliance potentially resulting in fines of up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover.
Tech Leaders Urge EU for Clearer AI Regulations
Recently, Meta and over 50 other companies sent an open letter to the EU warning that inconsistent AI regulations could harm competitiveness and innovation in Europe. Signed by Mark Zuckerberg and leaders from firms like Ericsson and Spotify, the letter urges clearer regulatory decisions to support open and multimodal AI models and addresses concerns over data usage for training.
In July, Meta announced it would not offer its next multimodal Llama AI model to EU customers, citing the “unpredictable nature” of the EU’s regulatory environment, with concerns primarily stemming from GDPR rather than the new AI Act.
