Guidelines on the implementation of the transparency obligations for certain AI systems under Article 50 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the 'AI Act')

Summary

Non-binding Commission guidelines, issued under Article 96(1)(d) of the AI Act, on the transparency obligations of Article 50, which apply from 2 August 2026. They explain who must comply and how: informing people that they are interacting with an AI system, machine-readable marking and detection of AI-generated or manipulated content, informing people exposed to emotion recognition or biometric categorisation, and labelling deep fakes and AI-generated text on matters of public interest. They cover exceptions, the horizontal requirements of Article 50(5) on clear, timely and accessible information, and enforcement.

Safety topics

Status notes

The guidelines are the annex to a Communication to the Commission approving their content, C(2026) 5054 final of 20 July 2026. Their drafting drew on a broad consultation, input from the Member States in the AI Board and comments on draft guidelines published for consultation on 8 May 2026. They complement the Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-generated Content (EU-16): providers and deployers may rely on a code assessed as adequate to demonstrate compliance. Under the AI Omnibus (EU-18), providers of generative AI systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 have until 2 December 2026 to meet the Article 50(2) marking obligation, while the disclosure obligation for interactive systems applies from 2 August 2026; content generated before 2 August 2026 need not be marked or labelled retroactively. The Commission will review the guidelines as necessary and may withdraw or amend them.

Sources

Open the official source https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/guidelines-transparency-obligations-providers-and-deployers-ai-systems

Secondary source: https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2026-07/guidelines_on_the_implementation_of_the_transparency_obligations_for_certain_ai_systems_under_article_50_of_the_ai_act_bzptwqhk0ikg1dtlddap41psfy_131215.pdf

Local copy

Verification

History

1. 2026-10-17notes: Draft guidelines were published for consultation on 8 May 2026. The final guidel → The guidelines are the annex to a Communication to the Commission approving thei — the draft guidelines dated to 8 May 2026 from the timeline on the Commission's policy page for the code of practice, stored in this run; the Omnibus transition and the absence of retroactive marking now come from the guidelines' own section 8.42026-10-17-recheck-europe-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
2. 2026-10-17summary: Non-binding Commission guidelines on the Art. 50 duties, which apply from 2 Aug → Non-binding Commission guidelines, issued under Article 96(1)(d) of the AI Act, — checked against the guidelines: their legal basis, the obligations as the guidelines frame them, and the horizontal requirements of Article 50(5) (clear and distinguishable information, first interaction, accessibility) instead of 'horizontal accessibility requirements'2026-10-17-recheck-europe-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
3. 2026-10-17official_url: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-publishes-guidelines-tr → https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/guidelines-transparency-obligat — the Commission's library page for the guidelines themselves (title, publication 20 July 2026, the guidelines and the approving Communication as downloads), linked from the Commission's policy page on the guidelines and stored in this run, in place of the news item announcing them2026-10-17-recheck-europe-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
4. 2026-10-17date_last_updated: 2026-07-27 → – — 27 July 2026 is the news page's 'Last update', a web page edit, not a new version of the guidelines2026-10-17-recheck-europe-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)

Related records

EU AI Act European Union · Partially in force

Code of Practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content European Union · Published (non-binding, current)

Digital Omnibus on AI (AI Omnibus) European Union · In force

Citation

European Commission. Guidelines on the implementation of the transparency obligations for certain AI systems under Article 50 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the 'AI Act') [C(2026) 5054 final (Annex)]. 2026-07-20. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/guidelines-transparency-obligations-providers-and-deployers-ai-systems. Status: Published (non-binding, current); verified 2026-10-17 (level A). Local copy archive/EU-19/2026-10-17/official.html retrieved 2026-10-17 18:18:50 UTC, SHA-256 c3a491a8f50f3af20f1f3927d43f666354157879db6b6bdc615113646f5ccde2. Every AI Policy Ever, version 1.18 (snapshot 2026-10-18), record EU-19.

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