Regulatory changelog
A single, source-linked timeline of every deadline, guideline and enforcement date that touches AI-generated content under Article 50. Updated whenever a primary source changes.
Last reviewed against primary sources: May 24, 2026
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 is published in the Official Journal and enters into force on 1 August 2024, starting the staggered compliance clock.
Source: eur-lex.europa.eu ↗Article 5 prohibitions (social scoring, manipulative AI, untargeted scraping for biometric databases, etc.) start to apply on 2 February 2025 — the first wave of obligations under the Act.
The European Commission releases its draft guidelines on transparency for AI-generated content, opening the public consultation that will shape how regulators interpret labeling, watermarking and disclosure duties.
Source: digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu ↗Last day for industry, civil society and member states to file comments on the draft guidelines and the accompanying voluntary Code of Practice on marking and labelling of AI-generated content.
The Commission is expected to publish the final Article 50 guidelines and the voluntary Code of Practice. Signing the Code is the lowest-risk way to demonstrate compliance pending enforcement.
Chatbot disclosure, deepfake disclosure, emotion-recognition and biometric-categorisation notices, and public-interest text disclosure all become enforceable. National authorities can begin opening cases for non-compliance.
Providers of generative AI systems must ensure outputs are marked as artificially generated or manipulated in a machine-readable format (C2PA / watermarks). Originally 2 Aug 2026 — delayed by four months by the Digital Omnibus package.
Source: digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu ↗High-risk AI systems listed in Annex III (employment, education, critical infrastructure, etc.) must meet the full set of conformity, documentation and post-market monitoring duties.
AI components embedded in regulated products (machinery, medical devices, toys, vehicles, etc.) fall under the full AI Act regime, harmonised with their sectoral product safety legislation.