Trump administration pushes EU to call off its AI code of practice

United States President Donald Trump’s administration has pressed European officials to call off the AI regulation, which would require developers of advanced artificial intelligence to meet stricter conditions on transparency, risk management, and copyright protections. 

In the past few weeks, the U.S. Mission to the European Union sent a formal letter to the Commission urging it not to adopt the code in its current form. Bloomberg reported that people familiar with the matter said similar letters were also sent to several member governments. Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier confirmed that the letter was received and is under review.

The EU has tight clamps on AI development

Although the code of practice remains voluntary, it is intended to guide companies in staying compliant with the EU’s landmark Artificial Intelligence Act. Under that law, firms that fail to follow its rules could face fines of up to 7% of their annual global turnover. Critics argue that the guidelines go beyond the act itself and would impose new, burdensome requirements on developers.

President Trump has accused Brussels of unfairly targeting American companies through costly rules and penalties. In January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he labeled EU tech regulations “a form of taxation” on U.S. businesses.

On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent letters to EU leaders earlier this year, expressing concern that their proposed policies could infringe on Americans’ free-speech rights.

The European Commission will publish the final AI code of practice in May

The European Commission is deciding the guidelines for the AI code of practice. These include inputs from major tech companies, copyright holders, and civil society groups. The final code of practice is scheduled to be published next month. Once released, it will be discussed and adopted by representatives of EU institutions and member states before it goes into effect.

During a virtual event in Brussels this February, Joel Kaplan, Meta Platforms Inc .’s global affairs chief, described the AI rules as “unworkable and infeasible,” and announced that Meta would not sign on unless significant changes were made.

Alphabet Inc. executives have echoed those objections. In an interview with Politico in February, one executive criticized provisions calling for extensive copyright clearance and mandatory third-party testing of AI models as going too far.

Kaplan told attendees that “we have an administration in the United States that is prepared to help advance and defend U.S. technology and technology companies. Obviously, we’re going to make sure that they understand what we experience.”

Earlier this week, the EU fined Apple Inc. and Meta a combined €700 million for breaching antitrust rules. Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, blasted the penalties as “economic extortion.”

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