Google to sign EU AI code despite regulatory concerns

Alphabet’s Google will sign the European Union’s voluntary code of practice intended to help companies comply with the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). Kent Walker, Alphabet’s global affairs president and chief legal officer, said the company hopes the framework will support European citizens’ and businesses’ access to secure, high-quality AI tools.

Developed by 13 independent experts, the code aims to give signatories legal certainty about meeting the law’s requirements. These include publishing summaries of content used to train general-purpose AI models and complying with EU copyright law. Walker nevertheless warned that departures from copyright law, slower approvals and requirements exposing trade secrets could hinder European model development and deployment.

Microsoft president Brad Smith said the company would likely sign the code, while Meta Platforms declined, citing legal uncertainty for model developers. The EU introduced its AI guardrails in an effort to establish a potential global benchmark for a technology dominated by the United States and China.