MUMBAI: When it comes to AI, Google wants the labels to be clear, not the rulebook longer. The tech giant has signed the European Union’s AI Act Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content, reaffirming its support for responsible AI while warning that overly complex regulations could slow innovation and make it harder for users to understand online content.
The announcement was made by Karen Massin, Google’s Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy for EU Institutions, who said transparency remains a cornerstone of trustworthy artificial intelligence. However, she argued that implementation should remain practical as technical standards continue to evolve.
The latest commitment builds on Google’s decision in 2025 to sign the General-Purpose AI (GPAI) Code of Practice, expanding its compliance with the European Union’s developing AI governance framework.
As part of the initiative, Google said it will continue adopting the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) standard, an industry-backed framework designed to help identify AI-generated and AI-edited content across digital platforms.
The company also highlighted SynthID, its proprietary digital watermarking technology that embeds invisible markers into AI-generated images, videos, text and audio. According to Google, the technology helps users understand whether content has been created or modified using artificial intelligence without affecting its quality.
Google said it is also working with a broader coalition of AI developers and technology companies including Apple, ElevenLabs, Kakao, NVIDIA and OpenAI to develop interoperable watermarking standards that function across different AI platforms.
While endorsing the transparency code, the company cautioned against introducing multiple overlapping disclosure requirements. It argued that increasing regulatory complexity while AI transparency technologies are still maturing could undermine the European Union’s wider objectives of boosting competitiveness and simplifying digital regulation.
Google also warned that an excessive number of AI labels, notices and legal disclosures could overwhelm users, making online content harder, not easier to interpret and potentially weakening the very transparency regulators are trying to achieve.
Looking ahead, the company said it will continue working with European regulators, industry partners and other stakeholders as the Code of Practice is rolled out, with the aim of developing practical transparency tools that help users identify AI-generated content without creating unnecessary regulatory or technical complexity.
The move reflects a broader balancing act facing the AI industry, supporting stronger safeguards around generative AI while ensuring that the rules governing the technology remain as usable as the tools they are designed to regulate.
