Meta to skip joining EU AI Pact immediately – report

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) will not immediately join the EU’s AI agreement, and is currently focusing on compliance work for the new law, Reuters reported citing the company.

The pact is a tentative measure before the region’s AI Act comes into full effect, the report added.

In May, the Council of the European Union gave final approval to a tentative agreement endorsed by EU lawmakers on rules governing AI. The requirements of the AI Act will start to apply in phases. From Aug. 1, 2024 the AI Act started to come into effect, and the European Commission noted that majority of rules of the act will start applying on Aug. 2, 2026.

Until the law comes into effect companies are encouraged to sign up to a voluntary AI Pact to implement vital obligations under the rules, the report noted.

“We welcome harmonised EU rules and are focusing on our compliance work under the AI Act at this time,” the Meta spokesperson noted, adding that the company could join the AI Pact at a later stage.

The European Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) follows a ‘risk-based’ approach, which means the higher the risk to cause harm to society, the stricter the rules.