EU AI Act Article 50(2): machine readable marking

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Record ID

CPS-2026-0018

Kind

Binding law

Jurisdiction

European Union

Last verified

15 September 2026

Added

15 September 2026

• The text reads that providers "shall ensure that the outputs of the AI system are marked in a machine-readable format and detectable as artificially generated or manipulated".
• The duty falls on providers, including providers of general purpose AI systems, and covers audio, image, video and text alike.
• Technical solutions must be "effective, interoperable, robust and reliable as far as this is technically feasible", taking account of content type, cost and the acknowledged state of the art "as may be reflected in relevant technical standards".
• The obligation does not apply where the system performs an assistive function for standard editing or does not substantially alter the input data or its semantics.
• A further carve out covers systems authorised by law to detect, prevent, investigate or prosecute criminal offences.
• The transparency obligations in Article 50 apply from 2 August 2026, as the Commission states alongside its code of practice.

Embeds a mark or manifest, Displays or verifies, What it requires. Stated means the document you can open below says it; silent means the ledger read the document and it does not.

Embeds a mark or manifestStated

It requires a mark in a machine readable format, without naming a format.Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Artificial Intelligence Act, Article 50, primary source, 12 July 2024.

Displays or verifiesStated

Article 50 also covers deployer side disclosure of deepfakes and of AI generated text on matters of public interest.Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Artificial Intelligence Act, Article 50, primary source, 12 July 2024.

What it requiresStated

Marking and detectability, effective and interoperable as far as technically feasible, applying from 2 August 2026.Commission publishes Code of Practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content, primary source, 10 June 2026.

Read the qualifiers as closely as the duty. The clause does not name C2PA, or watermarking, or any technology; it names properties, and it points at technical standards as evidence of the state of the art. That is why the conformance list and the published specification version matter commercially: they are how a provider shows that what it chose was effective and interoperable. The editing carve out is the one that most publishers will rely on, and it is narrow.

1. Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Artificial Intelligence Act, Article 50Primary · 12 July 2024
2. Commission publishes Code of Practice on marking and labelling AI-generated contentPrimary · 10 June 2026

• VerifiedBinding lawCPS-2026-0019

  The EU code of practice on marking and labelling of AI generated content

  European Union · verified 15 September 2026

  The Commission describes the code as voluntary, setting out practical steps for providers and deployers of generative AI systems to meet the Article 50 transparency obligations that apply from 2 August 2026.

• VerifiedBinding lawCPS-2026-0020

  The California AI Transparency Act, SB 942 as amended by AB 853

  United States · verified 15 September 2026

  SB 942 requires a covered provider to include a latent disclosure conveying the provider's name, the system name and version, the time and date of creation or alteration, and a unique identifier.

• VerifiedBinding lawCPS-2026-0021

  China's Measures for Labelling AI Generated Synthetic Content

  China · verified 15 September 2026

  Article 5 requires service providers to add an implicit label in the file metadata of generated synthetic content, carrying attribute information, the provider's name or code and a content number.