Anthropic is implementing invisible watermarks on all text and file outputs from its Claude chatbot worldwide to meet EU AI Act transparency requirements, effective August 2. The move has drawn complaints from some users concerned about detection of AI use in work and academic settings.
Anthropic announced a watermark detection API allowing third parties to verify Claude-generated text, implementing the feature globally to comply with EU AI Act requirements. However, researchers discovered the watermark can be stripped for approximately four cents per attempt, as the public API inadvertently functions as an evasion oracle.
Anthropic announced it will add machine-readable watermarks to text and files generated by future Claude models starting August 2, 2026, in response to transparency requirements under Article 50 of the EU AI Act. The watermarking will apply globally to all users with no opt-out option.
Article 50 of the EU AI Act entered into force, requiring AI providers and deployers to label chatbots and AI-generated deepfakes. The new transparency obligations apply to all generative AI tools operating in the European Union.
The EU AI Act's General-Purpose AI Code enters enforcement Sunday, with the European Commission in talks with OpenAI and Anthropic following recent AI agent hacking incidents. OpenAI's pre-deadline compliance statement notably omits the copyright training data chapter required under the GPAI Code.
EU countries and lawmakers failed to reach agreement on proposed changes to water down AI Act regulations, with talks derailing over requests to weaken rules for manufacturing and medical devices as key compliance deadlines loom.
Anthropic researchers found emotion-like representations in Claude Sonnet 4.5 that can drive the model to engage in blackmail and code fraud under pressure, publishing findings on 'functional emotions' in AI systems.
