EU Releases Final Version of General-Purpose AI Code of Practice to Help Companies Comply with AI Act
The European Commission published the final version of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice on Thursday, providing compliance guidance for companies under the AI Act framework. The code was developed with the participation of 13 independent experts and over a thousand stakeholders, addressing core issues such as transparency, copyright, and safety. As the application date for general-purpose AI rules on August 2, 2025, approaches, companies can voluntarily sign the code to reduce administrative burdens, though some industry groups still call for clearer guidance.
Overview
- The European Commission on Thursdaypublished the final version of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice, aiming to help companies comply with the standards set by the EU's AI Act.
- The code was developed by13 independent expertswith the participation ofover 1,000 stakeholders, providing practical tools to aligntransparency、copyrightandsafety and securityprocesses with regulatory standards. For example, the transparency chapter includes amodel documentation templateto help companies understand the information required for mandatory reporting.
- According to the announcement, after the code is formally endorsed by member states and the European Commission, companies can voluntarily sign it to reduce administrative burden and increase legal certainty, "compared to providers that demonstrate compliance through other means."
Deep Dive
The code comes as the EU steadily advances full implementation of the AI Act, with the next compliance milestone less than a month away.
On August 2, the Act's rules on general-purpose AI will officially apply, meaning models built after that will have one year to comply, while those built before will have two years to meet the rules.
"The final version of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice published today marks an important step in making the most advanced AI models available in Europe not only innovative but also safe and transparent," said the European Commission's Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and DemocracyHenna Virkkunen in a statement。
According to the announcement, companies and providers can use the code to assist compliance efforts, while the EU will also issue additional guidance before the August 2025 deadline.
Some industry groups and AI providers have called for reducing current regulatory hurdles and providing clearer guidance.
"Looking at the broader guidance package urgently needed for the AI Act, it is troubling that key parts of the GPAI framework—such as the AI Office's rules application guide that was supposed to accompany the final code—are still missing,"said Boniface de Champris, Senior Policy Manager at the Computer & Communications Industry Association's Europe office, in a statement. "Time is running out, and companies remain in the dark. Clearly, more time is needed to complete the overall framework and provide companies with a fair compliance window."