Photo Credit: Waldemar
The European Union’s adoption of its General Purpose AI Code of Practice has drawn pronounced differences across the world of Big Tech. Meta has issued a public refusal to sign, setting up a sharp divergence from the industry. Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI have all committed to compliance.
Meta—the owner of Facebook and Instagram—made its position abundantly clear in a LinkedIn Post from Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer. “Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI,” the post begins. “We have carefully reviewed the European Commission’s Code of Practice for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models and Meta won’t be signing it. 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.”
“Businesses and policymakers across Europe have spoken out against this regulation. Earlier this month, over 40 of Europe’s largest businesses signed a letter calling for the Commission to ‘Stop the Clock’ in its implementation. We share concerns raised by these businesses 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.”
Meta’s concerns center on legal ambiguities and what it sees as regulatory excess. The company argues that these factors will discourage AI development and throttle Europe’s ability to compete in business and technology. So who is committed?
Microsoft President Brad Smith has openly indicated support for the pact. “I think it’s likely we will sign. We need to read the documents… our goal is to find a way to be supportive and at the same time one of the things we really welcome is the direct engagement by the AI Office with industry.”
OpenAI has formally stated its intention to comply with the code, releasing 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. We have always developed models with transparency, accountability, and safety at the forefront: principles that are also reflected in the Code.”
Anthropic have also committed to signing the pact, while Mistral a French AI startup has also signed the code—highlighting Meta setting itself apart from AI rivals. The GPAI spells out transparency, copyright, and safety obligations for AI model providers. It insists on documentation, risk assessment, and clear internal copyright compliance—which Meta has already run afoul of with its model training.
The framework is voluntary for now, but eventually, enforcement will begin in August 2025 after which penalties for non-compliance can reach up to €35million ($37.7million) or 7% of global turnover. Signatories gain the advantage of a simplified compliance pathway: if they adhere to the Code’s obligations, supervision focuses on their compliance with the GPAI Code rather than a system-by-system audit.
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