Meta will not sign the European Commission's Code of Practice for a general purpose AI model, Global Affairs Chief Executive Joel Kaplan said in a LinkedIn post on Friday (July 18).
“This code introduces a lot of legal uncertainty to model developers and implements measures that go far beyond the scope of AI law,” Kaplan wrote in the post.
Kaplan added that over 40 European companies signed a letter earlier this month, asking the Commission to suspend the implementation of AI Act.
“We share the concerns raised by these companies, and this overreach will narrow down the development and deployment of European frontier AI models and stunt European companies that are trying to build companies on top of that,” writes Kaplan.
On July 4, Politico signed an open letter calling for a two-year suspension on the implementation of AI law, reporting that “unclear, overlapping, and increasingly complex EU regulations” have made it difficult to run business in the region.
The European Commission released the AI code code for the final version of the general-purpose AI on July 10, saying that the voluntary framework is designed to help artificial intelligence (AI) companies comply with the European Union's AI laws.
The Code of Practice seeks to clarify the legal obligations of providers of AI models in general, and providers of those that pose systemic risks that can support the development of chemical and biological weapons in particular.
The AI Act, approved in 2024, is the first comprehensive legal framework to manage AI. It aims to ensure that AI systems used in the EU are safe, transparent and respectful of basic human rights.
The code is voluntary, but signing on AI model companies will benefit from lower management burdens and legal certainty, according to the committee.
Openai said in a blog post on July 11th that it intends to sign the Code of Practice if the current version is officially approved.
“Signing the code reflects our commitment to providing a capable, accessible and secure AI model for Europeans to fully participate in the economic and social interests of the Intelligence Era,” Openai said in the post. “We have always been developing models that are transparent, accountable and safe at the forefront, and these are principles that are reflected in the code.”
