THE EU AI ACT: KEY OBLIGATIONS TAKING EFFECT AS OF AUGUST 2^ND 2026

Introduction

Recognizing both the opportunities and the risks associated with the rapid development of artificial intelligence (“AI”), the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the “AI Act”), making it the first comprehensive legal framework governing AI.

The AI Act establishes a harmonized regulatory framework for AI systems placed on the EU market or used within the EU, imposing obligations proportionate to the level of risk posed by a particular AI system.

The AI Act is being implemented gradually through a phased timeline. Following the adoption of the Digital Omnibus package, certain implementation deadlines were adjusted in order to facilitate compliance and allow additional time for the development of harmonized standards and conformity assessment procedures.

Transparency Obligations under Article 50

One of the key milestones in the implementation of the AI Act is the application of the transparency requirements, which are intended to ensure that individuals are informed that they are interacting with AI or are exposed to AI-generated content. These obligations set out in Article 50 became applicable on 2^nd August 2026.

AI systems interacting with natural persons

Providers of AI systems, intended to interact directly with individuals, must ensure that users are informed that they are interacting with an AI system, unless this is obvious from the context of use.

AI generated and synthetic content

The AI Act also introduces transparency obligations to providers of AI systems generating synthetic content. Providers must ensure that AI-generated text, images, audio and video are marked in a machine-readable format enabling their detection as artificially generated or manipulated content. It is worth mentioning that providers of AI systems, including General Purpose AI (GPAI) systems, generating synthetic audio, image, video or text content, that have been placed on the market before 2^nd August 2026 shall take the necessary steps in order to comply with these obligations by 2^nd December 2026.

Deep fakes and AI-generated public-interest content

Deployers of AI systems generating or manipulating image, audio or video content constituting deep fakes must clearly disclose that the content is AI generated or manipulated.

In addition, where AI-generated text intended to inform the public on matters of public interest is published, deployers may also be required to disclose that the content has been generated or manipulated. The AI Act provides important exceptions to this obligation –

1. Where the use is authorized by law to detect, prevent, investigate or prosecute criminal offences, or
2. Where the AI-generated content has undergone a process of human review or editorial control and where a natural or legal person holds editorial responsibility for the publication of the content.

The Regulation further requires deployers of AI systems used for emotion recognition or biometric categorization to inform the exposed individuals that such systems are in operation, without prejudice to any additional obligations arising under the General Data Protection Regulation and other applicable legislation.

Compliance. Penalties.

To support compliance with the AI Act transparency obligations under Article 50, the European Commission has published a voluntary Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content^[1] (the “Code”). The Code includes Icons for labelling AI-generated content to promote consistent transparency practices.

Businesses should note that the AI Act distinguishes between different categories of actors, including providers, deployers, importers, distributors and product manufacturers, each of which may be subject to different set of obligations. Determining the correct legal qualification is the essential first step in assessing compliance responsibilities.

Failure to comply with the applicable provisions may result in significant administrative fines, the amount of which depends on the nature and severity of the infringement. Member States must establish rules on penalties and other enforcement measures, which may also include administrative fines, warnings and non-monetary measures, applicable to any infringement of the AI Act by operators.

Non-compliance with the prohibition of the AI practices referred to in Article 5, including certain manipulative AI systems and AI exploiting vulnerabilities, is subject to administrative fines of up to EUR 35,000,000 or, if the offender is an undertaking, up to 7 % of its total worldwide annual turnover for the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.

In addition to the above, non-compliance with the provisions of the AI Act related to operators or notified bodies, including transparency obligations under Article 50, is subject to administrative fines of up to EUR 15,000,000 or, if the offender is an undertaking, up to 3 % of its total worldwide annual turnover for the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.

It is important to note that, as of the date of publication, no Bulgarian market surveillance authority appears to have been designated under Article 70 of the AI Act, nor do specific rules on penalties or other enforcement measures appear to have been adopted. However, there is an important exception regarding GPAI providers – under Article 101 the Commission has the authority to impose fines on providers of GPAI models for certain infringements.

Key Considerations

Businesses should proactively evaluate their AI-related activities and adopt appropriate compliance measures. Even though the regulatory framework in Bulgaria is still developing, the Regulation is directly applicable in all member states, meaning that businesses should adapt to the new requirements, which are already in force.

Please note: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

[1] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/code-practice-ai-generated-content

Date: August 2026

Source: Spasov & Bratanov Law Firm