EU AI Act for Publishers & media: what you must disclose by 2 August 2026
publishers sit at the center of Article 50(4). What the editorial-review exemption really requires. This is the plain-English playbook — what triggers the law in publishers & media, what to fix first, and how to do it without consultants.
Where Article 50 hits publishers & media
| AI you probably use | What the law wants |
|---|---|
| AI-drafted public-interest articles | Label required unless a human editor substantively reviewed, edited and takes responsibility. |
| AI-generated images and video | Realistic synthetic visuals must be labeled visibly. |
| AI moderation and reader-facing bots | Comment assistants and reader chatbots are AI interactions — disclose them. |
The order of operations
- Scan one representative public page — start with the page where visitors interact with AI, then repeat for other public workflows if useful. Free scan →
- Establish the roles — identify the provider, deployer and exact Article 50 trigger for each system.
- Implement the right notice — use the free one-script badge for a direct-interaction disclosure where it fits.
- Treat content separately — distinguish provider machine-readable marking from deployer duties for deepfakes and public-interest text.
- Keep proportionate proof — record live URLs, wording, owners and dated desktop/mobile checks without tracking visitors.
Sector reality check
The 'a human checked it' exemption is the most abused sentence in the Act. Without a documented review trail — who reviewed, what changed, when — the exemption doesn't exist.
Prefer it assessed properly? The €99 company assessment classifies every AI system you run and states exactly what each one requires.
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Company assessment
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What you receive
- •AI inventory and system classifications
- •Article 50 duties by touchpoint
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- •Evidence and documentation gaps
- •Prioritised actions and deadlines
- •Specialist review and follow-up questions
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