Article 50 transparency duties enter application

The Commission’s materials fix 2 August 2026 as the application date for Article 50 and describe machine-readable marking for covered AI-generated or altered content.

Event typeenforcement

Update page for EU AI Act · Article 50. Parent instrument: /vehicles/eu-ai-act-article-50.

Related Article 50 datesApplication date and legacy grace close.

2026-08-02Article 50 applies
2026-12-02Legacy marking grace ends

What changed on the date

Fact

Commission FAQ language states that Article 50 applies as from 2 August 2026.

The enforcement announcement states that AI-generated or altered content will also have to carry machine-readable marks so it can be detected more easily.

Immediate compliance position

Analysis

Providers and deployers inside Article 50’s scope move from preparation into an operative transparency regime on that date.

A separate indexed deadline on 2 December 2026 closes a limited legacy marking transition; it does not defer all Article 50 duties.

Limits

This update does not restate every Article 50 exception. Use the parent vehicle page and primary documents for scope questions.

Policy questions

Content integrity

Should AI-generated content be labelled?

Governments require disclosure in different forms. Technical duties, responsible actors and enforcement models still diverge.

Policy asks

in-force

Require machine-readable marking of AI-generated or altered content

Require covered providers to attach detectable technical provenance markers to synthetic or materially altered content.

in-force

Require visible disclosure for deepfakes and public-interest synthetic media

Require people encountering covered synthetic media to receive a clear, visible disclosure rather than relying only on hidden metadata.

Policy vehicles

regulation · Applicable

EU AI Act · Article 50 transparency obligations

Article 50 establishes transparency duties for specified AI interactions and synthetic or manipulated content.

Evidence

Source basis

Direct sourceOpen evidence record

Article 50 transparency duties entered into application

The Commission states that Article 50 applies from 2 August 2026.

Article 50 of the AI Act applies as from 2 August 2026.

European Commission · Commission FAQ · application date

Direct sourceOpen evidence record

EU rules require detectable machine-readable marks

The Commission describes a technical marking duty for covered AI-generated or altered content.

AI-generated or altered content will also have to carry machine-readable marks so it can be detected more easily.

European Commission · Commission enforcement announcement · paragraph 3