Apple, Meta Reject EU AI Pact as OpenAI, Microsoft Lead Industry Cooperation 

Key Takeaways

• Over 100 companies have signed the EU’s AI Pact, a voluntary commitment to implement aspects of the AI Act early.
• Signatories include Amazon, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.
• However, Apple and Meta haven’t joined them.

A group of technology companies have signed up to the EU’s “AI Pact,” a voluntary commitment to proactively implement aspects of the AI Act ahead of the legal deadline.

Among the major American Big Tech players, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have already signed up. But Apple and Meta continue to hold out.

Which Companies Have Signed the AI Pact?

As of Friday, Sept. 27, the European Commission listed  129 signatories to the AI Pact.

Alongside Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, other household names on the list include Adobe, IBM, Mastercard, and Samsung.

Of the major AI labs, OpenAI and Cohere have signed up, as have dozens of multi-billion dollar software firms like Accenture, Atlassian, Cisco, and Palantir.

Companies from the healthcare, finance, automotive, and aeronautical industries are also represented.

AI Pact Pledges

As part of the AI Pact, participating companies to commit to three voluntary pledges:

1. Adopting an AI governance strategy to work towards future compliance with the AI Act.
2. Identifying and mapping AI systems likely to be categorized as high-risk under the AI Act.
3. Promoting AI awareness and literacy among staff.

The pact also includes a list of additional pledges that may apply to organizations that develop or deploy AI systems.

The purpose of the non-binding agreement is to help firms prepare for the AI Act. Signatories are invited to share knowledge and contribute to industry guidelines for compliance.

Apple and Meta Reject Pact

The most noteworthy holdouts from the AI Pact are Apple and Meta, which both have significant stakes in European AI regulation.

Incidentally, both companies already face challenges with their EU AI strategies even before the AI Act is fully implemented and have been forced to postpone product launches in the region.

Although it will be rolled out for U.S. iPhone users next month, Apple Intelligence won’t be available in the EU. The company blamed the interoperability requirements of the Digital Markets Act, which it said  could “risk user privacy and data security.”

Meanwhile, citing the “unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment” Meta has said it won’t release its multimodal version of LLaMA-3 in the EU. 

Meta’s EU Challenges

Meta’s current predicament in the EU relates to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ongoing legal challenges over its use of Facebook and Instagram user data to train AI.

The company recently argued that unless the EU loosens its GDPR enforcement and provides the firm with access to European users’ data it risks falling behind.

In an open letter,  the company claimed interventions by European regulators “have created huge uncertainty” for AI developers and called for a more permissive, “modern interpretation of GDPR provisions.”

About the Author

James Morales

Although his background is in crypto and FinTech news, these days, James likes to roam across CCN’s editorial breadth, focusing mostly on digital technology. Having always been fascinated by the latest innovations, he uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.

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