EU AI Act Article 50(4), first subparagraph — Deployer duty to disclose deep fakes
Deployers of AI that generates or manipulates image, audio or video constituting a deep fake must disclose that the content is artificially generated or manipulated, with a lighter form of disclosure for evidently artistic or satirical works
Where this comes from
Provision: Article 50(4), first subparagraph — Deployer duty to disclose deep fakes
Instrument: EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689)
Citation: Article 50(4), first subparagraph, with Article 50(5), Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
Text version: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), OJ L, 12.7.2024
Checked against the source: 2 September 2026
Who it applies to
AI system in scope of the Act (Art. 2) — all of these:
- Service deploys AI systems in a professional capacity
- AI Act role is Deployer or we provide some AI systems and deploy others
- AI transparency features includes The system generates or manipulates image, audio or video that resembles...
…unless:
- AI Act scope exclusion is used exclusively for military, defence or national-security purposes or developed and used solely for scientific research and development
- Art. 2(3): the Regulation 'does not apply to AI systems where and in so far as they are placed on the market, put into service, or used with or without modification exclusively for military, defence or national security purposes'. (AI Act Art. 2(3))
- Art. 2(6): the Regulation 'does not apply to AI systems or AI models, including their output, specifically developed and put into service for the sole purpose of scientific research and development'. (AI Act Art. 2(6))
- Each Art. 50 transparency duty is disapplied for AI systems authorised by law to detect, prevent, investigate or prosecute criminal offences, subject to appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of third parties — except, for Art. (AI Act Art. 50(1), (2), (3) and (4))
- Art. 50(4): 'Where the content forms part of an evidently artistic, creative, satirical, fictional or analogous work or programme, the transparency obligations set out in this paragraph are limited to disclosure of the existence of such generated or... (AI Act Art. 50(4), first subparagraph, final sentence)
Scope in the source's own terms
- Art. 2(1): the AI system is placed on the market or put into service in the Union, or the provider/deployer is established in the Union, or the output produced by the system is used in the Union
- Art. 26(1), read with Art. 3(4): the actor is a 'deployer' — a natural or legal person using an AI system under its authority, other than in the course of a personal non-professional activity
- Art. 50(4), first subparagraph: the triggering feature is generation or manipulation of image, audio or video content 'constituting a deep fake' as defined in Art. 3(60)
What engineering work it implies
- AI Transparency Notices (Chatbot, Emotion/Biometric, Synthetic Media)Covers it fully
The three Article 50 disclosures as shippable components: an AI-interaction notice, an emotion/biometric exposure notice, and synthetic-media labelling with a...
Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:
- Content generated or manipulated into a deep fake is labelled at the point of publication, not only in the upload flow
- The label is visible on every surface the content appears on, including embeds, feeds and shares
- A lighter disclosure mode exists for evidently artistic, creative, satirical or fictional work, and which mode was used is recorded
- The publisher must choose a mode — there is no unlabelled default path for synthetic media
- The label is present in the accessibility tree, not conveyed by an image alone
Evidence an auditor expects
- User-interface evidenceUser testing
Deep-fake disclosure as published
Copies of the published content showing the disclosure that the image, audio or video content has been artificially generated or manipulated. Where the content forms part of an evidently artistic, creative, satirical, fictional or analogous work, evidence of the limited disclosure of the EXISTENCE of such content in a manner that does not hamper the display or enjoyment of the work
- Process recordDocument review
Publication register of deep-fake content and the disclosure applied to each item
Register listing each published item constituting a deep fake, the disclosure form used, and — where the artistic/satirical limit was relied on — the basis for that characterisation
Questions people ask
- Does EU AI Act Article 50(4), first subparagraph — Deployer duty to disclose deep… apply to my service?
- It applies when Service deploys AI systems in a professional capacity; AI Act role is Deployer or we provide some AI systems and deploy others; AI transparency features includes The system generates or manipulates image, audio or video that resembles.... It does not apply where AI Act scope exclusion is used exclusively for military, defence or national-security purposes or developed and used solely for scientific research and development.
- When does this become enforceable?
- EU AI Act Article 50(4), first subparagraph — Deployer duty to disclose deep… is enforceable from 2 August 2026. Its current status is: in force.
- What evidence does an auditor expect?
- Deep-fake disclosure as published; Publication register of deep-fake content and the disclosure applied to each item.
Find out whether this one lands on you
Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.
Not legal advice. Landfall maps regulatory obligations to engineering work for planning purposes. Its verdicts are not legal advice and create no attorney-client relationship — verify with qualified counsel before relying on them.