Instagram, Google, and TikTok should warn users about AI-generated content and build safeguards, EU official says

• Tech companies should "clearly label" apps which could spread AI-generated disinformation, Bloomberg reported.
• That's according to a top EU official, and a voluntary code that Google, Meta, and TikTok have signed up to.

TikTok, Meta, and Microsoft have been urged to warn users about AI-generated content, Bloomberg reported.

According to Vera Jourova, a European Commission vice president, those companies should now "clearly label" any services which could spread AI-generated disinformation, Bloomberg reported.

Those companies are part of the European Union's code of practice on disinformation, a voluntary agreement which helps social media companies comply with the Digital Services Act.

The code isn't mandatory, but its commitments — like preventing fake news from making money, ensuring transparency on political ads, and cooperating with fact checkers — help companies avoid future problems.

While AI "can be a force for good," the new technologies also "raise fresh challenges for the fight against disinformation," Jourova said Monday, per Bloomberg.

She added that companies using generative AI – like Microsoft's Bing and Google's Bard – should "build in necessary safeguards that these services cannot be used by malicious actors to generate disinformation," per Bloomberg.

At last month's Google I/O conference, the search giant announced it was adding a new feature that lets users see if a picture is AI-generated.

And last Tuesday, Twitter announced that it's adding the ability to fact-check images, citing AI-generated media as a reason.

But last month, Elon Musk officially signed off on Twitter's withdrawal from the voluntary code – which seems to have provoked European officials.

"Twitter has chosen the hard way. They chose confrontation," Jourova said, per Bloomberg.

"Make no mistake, by leaving the code, Twitter has attracted a lot of attention and its actions and compliance with EU law will be scrutinized vigorously and urgently."