logo
Commission publishes GenAI transparency tool days before rules kick in

Commission publishes GenAI transparency tool days before rules kick in

Euractiva day ago
On Thursday, the Commission published templates for AI companies to summarise the data they used to train their models – days before transparency rules for generative AI tools start to apply.
The AI Act's rules for General Purpose AI models (GPAIs) – such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, MidJourney or Mistral's Le Chat – come into force on 2 August, applying legally binding transparency obligations on AI developers.
Training data summaries that will be produced when AI developers fill in the templates are a key component of the law's push for transparency, as they will require GPAI makers to publicly disclose how their AI models are made – specifying which data went into building their systems.
The Commission's AI training data template has been eagerly awaited by creative industries, which hope the transparency tool will help them enforce copyright claims against GPAIs.
Under the template released today, AI providers will have to disclose the main datasets they used to train models. They also need to provide a narrative description of data that was scraped from the internet and any other sources of data.
A Commission description of the template said the tool aims to strike a balance between enabling detailed enough disclosure to ensure effective transparency, while also allowing GPAI makers to protect commercially sensitive information.
Ahead of entry into force of the AI Act's rules for GPAIs on 2 August, the Commission has been expected to publish several documents to support compliance. The template was the last item on the Commission's to-do list – after guidelines and a GPAI Code of Practice were published earlier this month.
In recent weeks – with time running out before the legal deadline kicks in for GPAIs – industry had been pushing for the Commission to delay implementation. However, the Commission made it clear, multiple times, that the 2 August date stands.
While the GPAI rules become applicable next week, the AI Office, which is the body in charge of enforcing the law, will not do so until August 2026 – giving the AI companies one more year before they could be fined for any breaches. Models that are already on the market have until August 2027 to abide by the rules.
(nl)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Germany and France to EU: Stay out of arms export policy
Germany and France to EU: Stay out of arms export policy

Euractiv

time10 hours ago

  • Euractiv

Germany and France to EU: Stay out of arms export policy

The defence ministers from Germany and France both declared that the European Union has absolutely no role to play in weapons export decisions, issuing a clear rebuke to European Commission ambitions to ease trade within the EU weapons market. Weapons export decisions are 'exclusively' the preserve of national governments, and the EU and the European Commission 'have no role to play in this regard ', German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday evening at a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu. The remarks demonstrate strong and united opposition from the EU's two most important members to the Commission's push to l oosen export controls within the EU in order to fast-track arms production. The EU executive has proposed allowing countries to skip obtaining approval before reselling key sensitive components used in weapons manufacturing. Many countries control how weapons and other sensitive products can be used, and retain the right to veto the further resale of defence equipment to third countries. France has for months opposed the idea of loosening those rules within the EU, as Euractiv first reported earlier this spring . Paris has argued that the move goes beyond existing agreements on transfers of defence-related products within the EU – and would effectively strip France of the right to control and keep track of where critical components end up. But despite those protests from Paris, the Commission has kept pitching the idea of loosening export rules, most recently last month in its package to ease regulation on the defence sector, known as the "defence omnibus". The Commission also announced plans to revise the existing intra-EU transfer directive, which governs trade in defence-related products within the bloc, sometime in the coming months. Pistorius's remarks, however, clearly bolster France's opposition to those changes. "There is no question of the European Commission interfering in the competences of the member states, especially when it comes to arms exports," Lecornu said. (bts, aw)

As the AI Act falls short on protecting copyright, creatives eye licensing reform
As the AI Act falls short on protecting copyright, creatives eye licensing reform

Euractiv

time16 hours ago

  • Euractiv

As the AI Act falls short on protecting copyright, creatives eye licensing reform

Copyright holders are turning their attention towards a potential licensing framework, after being left disappointed by the AI Act's transparency obligations and Code of Practice for general-purpose AIs (GPAIs). The Commission released Thursday much-anticipated template for AI developers to summarise the data used to train their models. However, the measure has been met with scepticism from creators, who believe that transparency alone is not enough to safeguard their copyrights. By nature, GPAI models – the technology that underpins the likes of ChatGPT, Le Chat, or Midjourney – require vast amounts of data to produce outputs that are more accurate and less likely to be biased. But the provenance of the data is often opaque, and creatives and artists worry that they have no way of knowing whether their work was used to train AI systems – and therefore no way to object to its use. Transparency as a first step The EU's landmark Artificial Intelligence Act is intended to bring greater transparency to AI systems and enable creators to assert their copyright claims. The law requires developers of GPAI models to produce summaries of the data used for training, and to implement systems allowing right holders to "opt out" of having their content used for model development. On Thursday, the Commission published the template it expects AI developers to use for these summaries of training data. This aspect of the AI Act faced intense lobbying by copyright holders, who wanted the templates to be as granular as possible, and AI companies, who worried too much detail could reveal trade secrets. But industry is not convinced by the Commission's implementation. "It falls short of safeguarding the creative sector and, if not corrected, risks undermining Europe's AI Act and copyright framework in favour of a few global tech companies," Burak Özgen, deputy general manager of GESAC, the authors and composers' lobby, told Euractiv. A Code of Practice for GPAIs was also negotiated between experts, lobbyists and civil society over several months to further flesh out compliance around key issues such as copyright. But for rights holders, the final text also fell short. The improvements in the final version of the Code are " certainly insufficient", said Özgen, arguing that it lacks "concrete" detail which would make it "actionable". His blunt summary is that the Code does "nothing useful to help exercising and enforcing the rights of authors". Copyright rules fit for GenAI At the core of the disagreement between right holders and AI developers is how copyright rules apply to generative AI tools – and what should come next. The EU's Copyright Directive allows the use of software that crawls the internet, on lawfully accessed websites and databases, to collect copyrighted text and images for data analytics or research – aka text and data mining (TDM) – unless copyright holders have actively opted out of having their work scraped. For the tech lobby CCIA, the TDM exception is essential to support AI innovation. The rules were " carefully designed to strike a vital balance between fostering innovation and protecting intellectual property," CCIA Europe's Senior Policy Manager, Boniface de Champris, told Euractiv. However, a study ordered by the Parliament's legal affairs committee takes a very different view, finding that the TDM rules were not intended for generative AI – and "do not provide legal certainty, transparency, or effective rights control", as the report puts it. The two camps remain divided over this issue, which may be why right holders are now turning their attention towards a potential dedicated framework for licensing agreements. Finding a way to be appropriately compensated for use of their works to train AI remains a central concern for them, especially as GenAI uptake accelerates. A draft Parliament report led by MEP Axel Voss – who also negotiated the EU's existing Copyright Directive – makes the case for a new framework to enable licensing deals to be concluded. The report must still be amended by other MEPs before it can represent the Parliament's official position. But the composer and songwriters lobby ECSA was happy that Voss' draft report " rejects the application of the TDM exceptions to Generative AI, and calls to ensure fair remuneration," as Helienne Lindvall, its president, told Euractiv. The ball is now in the Commission's court. It must decide whether to respond to the rise of GenAI by revising the EU's copyright framework – with the Copyright Directive up for review in 2026 – and, if so, figure out how to ensure that any new rules strike the right balance between support for AI innovation and protecting human creativity. (nl, aw)

Turkey races to beat China in EU food status war amid kebab scrap with Germany
Turkey races to beat China in EU food status war amid kebab scrap with Germany

Euractiv

time16 hours ago

  • Euractiv

Turkey races to beat China in EU food status war amid kebab scrap with Germany

Ankara is ramping up its push to secure EU recognition for its iconic foods, edging closer to dethroning China – but the fate of its beloved döner kebab is still in limbo. When Brussels launched the EU's system to register names for high-quality foods in the 1990s – a sort of 'passport' for traditional recipes – it was intended mainly as a way to protect local producers' savoir faire in an era of growing globalisation. But the geographical indications (GIs) system has become increasingly globalised itself. Besides featuring in every trade deal negotiated by the Commission, it is now attracting a growing number of applications from third countries. Today, it's not just Italy's Parmigiano or France's Roquefort that enjoy protection. China's Anji white tea and Panjin rice are also shielded from imitations within the EU. The same goes for Turkey's pistachio-filled pastry, Antep Baklavası, and its Malatya dried apricots. These countries currently rank first and second on the list of non-EU designations of origin – with the EU's eastern neighbour now eyeing China's top spot. 'It's clear that Turkey is seeking to move closer to Europe by establishing a strong position in the quality products market, leveraging its geographic proximity and tourism potential,' Mauro Rosati, director of the Siena-based Qualivita Foundation, told Italy's newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore . According to Qualivita, which tracks the GI economy and legislation, Ankara is behind three out of four applications currently under review in Brussels. Turkey is clearly stepping up its game, but it still has ground to cover. While the country has 36 EU-registered food products, China holds a commanding lead with 99 foods, seven wines, and four spirits protected. Yet Ankara's quest for EU recognition is not without roadblocks. It is now eagerly awaiting Brussels's decision on whether to grant protection to the iconic meat dish "döner kebab " , with Berlin leading efforts to block the bid. Who owns the Döner? In 2022, Turkey applied for "döner " to be granted Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status — a scheme that, unlike GIs, protects a food's recipe rather than its geographic origin. Ankara wants to set rules on how "döner" is made to preserve its authenticity – from the thickness of the meat slices to the hours of marination. Germany says: hands off the rotating meat. 'For the sake of the many fans in Germany, the döner kebab should remain the way it's enjoyed here,' said the German Agriculture Ministry earlier this year. A cultural symbol of Turkish immigration, the döner kebab has become a German street staple – sometimes even outshining currywurst in popularity. Former German farm minister Cem Özdemir, himself of Turkish descent, weighed in after the EU published Ankara's application in 2024. 'The doner kebab is a German tradition. Everyone should be able to decide for themselves how it is prepared and eaten here. There's no need for regulations from Ankara,' he said in a social media post. Smiling in the photo, a banner beside him read: 'Döner makes you beautiful'. Turkey and the opponents to its bid – including Germany and Austria – recently ended months of bilateral talks without an agreement. The fate of the döner now rests with the European Commission, with no timeline yet announced. A Commission spokesperson told Euractiv that the decision will be taken 'in due time'. Jeremias Lin contributed to this reporting. (adm, aw)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store