European Union's AI code of conduct gets rebuffed by Belgium
Belgium has raised objections against the European Union's AI Act, primarily due to concerns about copyright protection and the treatment of intellectual property rights affected by generative AI technologies.
The country, along with a broad coalition of creative and cultural sectors across Europe, has criticised the EU AI Act's implementation measures as insufficient in safeguarding the rights of creators and copyright holders against unauthorised usage of their protected works in AI training.
The crux of Belgium's copyright concerns lies in the AI Act's handling of transparency and disclosure of training data. Article 53 of the Act aims to protect copyright holders by requiring transparency about the use of copyright-protected content in training AI models. However, the cultural and creative sectors argue that the current "transparency template" designed to disclose this data is inadequate and will not provide clear information about which works were used without permission, effectively allowing generative AI providers to infringe on copyright with impunity.
The sectors also warn that the deployment of generative AI models relying extensively on data scraping harms the cultural sector through unfair competition and damage to livelihoods. The sectors, which contribute significantly to the EU economy and employment, see insufficient enforcement of the copyright protections in the AI Act as selling out their interests.
Despite the AI Act aiming to maintain EU competitiveness in AI innovation and public safety, these copyright issues remain a core reason why stakeholders like Belgium have opposed or expressed strong reservations about the current form of the AI Act and its implementation measures.
The European Union has drawn up a non-binding code of conduct to guide the implementation of the AI Act's rules. The code of conduct is yet to be approved by the AI Board, which includes representatives of the member states. However, Belgium has voted against the code of conduct because it offers too few guarantees for copyright protection.
The minister for Digitalisation in Belgium, Vanessa Matz, has stated that she would continue to work to ensure AI models consider the interests of creators. The AI Act introduces rules for general-purpose AI models, including large generative models.
Despite modifications compared to the original document, the approved text of the AI Act remains unsatisfactory for Belgium. The Commission has acknowledged that the AI Act may need to be evaluated and amended sooner than legally required.
Meta, one of the companies, has announced it will not sign the code of conduct due to creating additional legal uncertainty. However, 26 companies, including Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, have signed the code of conduct. The rules aim to ensure more transparent information on AI models' training, better copyright protection, and responsible AI development.
The Commission has issued a warning that companies choosing to comply with AI legislation through means other than the code of conduct may face more regulatory oversight.
- Belgium, alongside various European creative and cultural sectors, feels that the European Union's AI Act does not adequately safeguard the rights of creators against unauthorized usage of their protected works in AI training, especially concerning transparency and disclosure of training data.
- In the discussion of the AI Act's implementation measures, the sectors argue that the current "transparency template" is inadequate in providing clear information about which works were used without permission, creating a situation where generative AI providers could potentially infringe on copyright with impunity.
- The political environment surrounding the AI Act's implementation includes opposition from Belgium, who has voted against a non-binding code of conduct due to insufficient guarantees for copyright protection. The minister for Digitalisation in Belgium, Vanessa Matz, has stated her intention to ensure AI models consider the interests of creators.
