Since 2 August 2026, the transparency obligations of Article 50 of the AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) apply. The “Digital Omnibus” adopted in July 2026 (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744) did not postpone this date. Only for generative AI systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 does a transition period until 2 December 2026 apply to machine-readable marking. High-risk obligations were postponed to December 2027 and August 2028.
What applies: chatbots must disclose that users are interacting with AI; deepfakes must be disclosed by deployers, including advertisers and agencies; AI-generated text on matters of public interest must be disclosed unless it is subject to human editorial responsibility.
Unfair competition: there are good arguments that breaches are actionable as breaches of statutory duty under Section 3a UWG. In late July 2026, the Wettbewerbszentrale published updated guidance recommending disclosure of virtual influencers and realistic AI ad images and classifying “AI washing” as misleading.
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