AI Transparency: EU Announces New Guidelines for Labeling Synthetic Content and Deepfakes

The European Commission has revealed detailed guidelines that will help developers and companies deploying artificial intelligence (AI) systems to comply with new transparency requirements. These rules are part of the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) framework and will come into force on August 2, 2026.

The main focus of the new rules is to ensure that users know when they are interacting with AI instead of a human and that the content they consume is created or manipulated by algorithms. Providers will be required to implement machine-readable labeling that allows specialized tools to easily identify synthetic material.

When is disclosure required?
According to the new guidelines, users must be explicitly notified when encountering:

• Deepfake content;
• Materials on matters of public interest that have not undergone human editorial review;
• Emotion recognition systems;
• Biometric categorization systems.

It is important to note that the rules do not cover routine editorial tasks, such as automatic spell or grammar checking, to avoid excessive bureaucracy in daily work.

To facilitate the transition, the Commission is also proposing a voluntary "Code of Practice," which will provide legal certainty for organizations. Simultaneously, a special information center has been created – the AI Act Service Desk – which will serve as a resource for up-to-date guidelines and support.

Although the main provisions start in August 2026, there is also a transition period for systems already on the market. They will have until December 2, 2026, to adapt to the new labeling and detectability requirements.