Meta announced it is signing the European Union's Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content, placing the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp inside a voluntary framework five days before Article 50 of the AI Act becomes legally binding. The statement came from Markus Reinisch, VP of Public Policy, Europe, in a post on the company's newsroom. Meta said signing the code "reflects our commitment to this principle" that people should have tools to identify synthetic media. The company confirmed the decision after 22 July 2026, the date on which organisations were expected to sign to obtain a presumption of compliance. Meta traced its position back to February 2024, when it set out its approach to identifying and labelling AI-generated content. The company cautioned that transparency measures must provide "clarity, rather than more confusion," and argued against a situation where online content carries a growing array of labels that "overwhelm people" and add "additional regulatory complexity for providers." Google signed the same code on 24 July 2026 and similarly warned about regulatory complexity. On 18 July 2025, Meta declined to sign the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice, citing legal uncertainties and measures it considered to extend beyond the AI Act's scope.