Google to Sign EU’s AI Code of Practice

Google will sign the European Union’s artificial intelligence (AI) code of practice, despite some reservations, the global affairs president of the firm’s parent company, Alphabet, said in a blog post on July 30.

“We do so with the hope that this code, as applied, will promote European citizens’ and businesses’ access to secure, first-rate AI tools as they become available,” said Kent Walker, who is also Alphabet’s chief legal officer.

Walker also sounded a note of caution, saying that Google remains “concerned that the AI Act and Code risk slowing Europe’s development and deployment of AI.”

“In particular, departures from EU copyright law, steps that slow approvals, or requirements that expose trade secrets could chill European model development and deployment, harming Europe’s competitiveness,” he wrote.

The voluntary code of practice, drawn up by 13 independent experts from across Europe and North America, is aimed at providing legal certainty to signatories on how to meet requirements under the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act.

These include issuing summaries of the content used to train their general-purpose AI models and complying with European copyright law.

Microsoft president Brad Smith said earlier this month that “it’s likely we will sign. We need to read the documents.”

In contrast, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, said in a July 18 blog post on LinkedIn that the company won’t be signing, citing the legal uncertainties for AI model developers.

“Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI,” he said.

“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.”

The EU enacted the code, which was published on July 10, to set a global standard for AI as its use becomes more extensive.

According to the bloc, signing onto the code will benefit model developers because it “will reduce their administrative burden and give them more legal certainty than if they proved compliance through other methods.”

European obligations for AI companies come into force on Aug. 2, and the rules stipulate that companies “must comply and are expected to … collaborate with the AI Office’s technical staff.”

“In particular, providers of the most advanced models … those that pose systemic risks, are legally obliged to notify the AI Office of these models. The AI Office will support providers in their compliance, especially code of practice signatories,” the European Commission stated.

Silicon Valley giants have frequently been penalized in Europe in recent years, with Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Google all being fined by the EU or individual nations.

AI, however, has so far not been a flashpoint for regulation, although as an ever-expanding field, it is likely to face increased scrutiny in the near future.

In 2024, Google lost its final appeal against a 2.4 billion euro (about $2.64 billion) EU penalty for illegally prioritizing its shopping recommendations over rivals in search results.

Within the EU, Google has often been pursued under the Digital Services Act.

The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) form a single set of rules under a package that applies across the EU.

The DMA is focused on ensuring fair and open digital markets, whether they are established within or outside the EU, regulating the gatekeeping power of the largest digital companies.

Companies can be fined by up to 10 percent of their annual worldwide revenue for a first offense and up to 20 percent for repeat violations.

Google is facing pressure over its digital advertising business in Europe.

In March, the European Commission stated that under the DMA, app developers that distribute their apps via Google Play “should be able, free of charge, to inform customers of alternative cheaper possibilities, to steer them to those offers and to allow them to make purchases.”

“The commission preliminarily finds that Alphabet fails to comply with that obligation,” it stated.

It also stated that Alphabet treats its own services, such as shopping, hotel booking, transport, or financial and sports results, “more favorably in Google Search results than similar services offered by third parties.”

Owen Evans contributed to this report.