# EU transparency rules for AI-generated content now apply

Article 50 of the AI Act asks for disclosure, with a lighter touch for evidently artistic work.

Published 18 September 2026 by EuGFA in The Briefing. Interests: Policy.

## What happened

The transparency obligations in Article 50 of the EU AI Act have applied since 2 August 2026.

Anyone deploying an AI system to create a deepfake, meaning image, audio or video that resembles real people, places or events and could pass as authentic, has to disclose that the content was artificially generated or manipulated.

The European Commission has published guidelines on these obligations, along with a code of practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content.

## Why it matters

For evidently artistic, creative, satirical or fictional work, the duty is limited to disclosing in a way that does not hamper the display or enjoyment of the work.

That gives filmmakers room, but it does not remove the obligation. Festivals, broadcasters and distributors will start asking how a film discloses its process.

## Still open

Providers whose generative systems were already on the market before 2 August have until 2 December 2026 to add machine-readable marks to their output.

How the artistic exception is read in practice, for credits, screenings and online releases, will be settled by the first cases.

## Read further

- [Article 50 text](https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/article/50/)
- [Guidelines on transparency obligations for AI-generated content](https://eugfa.org/discourse/eu-ai-act-transparency-guidelines). Official framing of Article 50 transparency rules, including how artistic and fictional deepfake-like works are treated. Essential European policy context for makers.