The EU just issued guidelines for AI safety, and Meta is already opting out

Meta is refusing to sign the European Union’s new code of practice for artificial intelligence, a company leader said on Friday.

The AI code is a part of the AI Act, which became law last year. The set of laws will apply to the largest AI models, and companies have until Aug. 2 next year to comply. However, the new AI code of practice is voluntary.

Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, issued a statement on LinkedIn announcing the company’s decision to opt out of the code.

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“Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI,” he wrote. “The European Commission’s Code of Practice for GPAI will stifle the development & deployment of frontier AI models and hinder Europe’s economic growth,” he continued.

The AI Act applies to AI models that the commission deems to carry systemic risks that could significantly affect “public health, safety, fundamental rights, or society,” reports Reuters. It also includes the most well-known “foundational models” from companies like Meta, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

The European Commission, the primary executive arm of the EU, issued new guidelines earlier today to help AI companies comply with the AI Act. That follows the voluntary code of practice issued earlier this July, according to Bloomberg.

AI model providers can choose whether or not to sign the code of practice, which will include copyright protections, safety guidelines, and transparency requirements. If a company chooses to sign the code, it could receive more legal protections if accused of violating the act. Companies found to breach the law could be fined up to 7 percent of their annual global revenue.

Meta is the latest U.S. company to push back against the EU’s widespread efforts to regulate AI. Others include Mistral AI and Airbus, companies that signed a letter earlier this year asking the EU Commission to delay enforcement of the law.

“We shared concerns raised by these businesses,” said Kaplan in his statement, “that this over-reach will throttle the development and deployment of frontier AI models in Europe and stunt European companies looking to build businesses on top of them.”

Meanwhile, OpenAI has agreed to sign the EU’s Code of Practice for General Purpose AI, saying in a statement, “Signing the Code reflects our commitment to providing capable, accessible, and secure AI models for Europeans to fully participate in the economic and societal benefits of the Intelligence Age.”

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.