BRUSSELS, 2 August 2026: New transparency obligations for certain artificial-intelligence systems have taken effect across the European Union, requiring clearer disclosure when people interact with AI and stronger identification of some AI-generated or manipulated content.
The European Commission says the rules are intended to help people recognise when they are communicating with an AI system or viewing content generated or altered by AI. The measure comes as synthetic media and automated systems become more common, increasing concerns about misinformation, impersonation, fraud and consumer deception.
What the new rules cover
Certain AI-generated or manipulated images, audio and video that resemble real people, objects, places, entities or events must be clearly and visibly labelled and include machine-readable marks where required. The obligations also cover certain emotion-recognition and biometric-categorisation systems.
Providers and deployers of interactive AI systems, such as chatbots, AI agents and avatars, must clearly inform users when they are interacting with a machine rather than a real person, unless that is already obvious from the context.
The Commission also identifies a specific obligation for text published to inform the public about matters of public interest when there has been no human review or editorial control. The rule is not a general ban on AI. Instead, it adds transparency and disclosure requirements for covered systems and content.
Enforcement and what happens next
National market-surveillance authorities, the European Commission’s AI Office and the European Data Protection Supervisor are responsible for enforcing the transparency rules in their respective areas. The Commission says companies may face fines of up to €15 million or 3% of global annual turnover, with proportionality taken into account.
An independent report by Al Jazeera noted that the transparency provisions should be distinguished from the Act’s wider high-risk obligations. Those more demanding operational requirements were reported as postponed until 2 December 2027, meaning the 2 August change should not be read as every AI obligation taking effect at once.
Editor’s note: This report is based on European Commission materials and independent reporting. The cover is an AI-generated editorial illustration and is labelled in its alt text.
Sources: European Commission: Safer and more transparent AI; European Commission: Guidelines on transparency obligations; Al Jazeera: What came into force with the EU’s AI Act.
