SenseDefend

Synthetic-media instruments, by article and effective date

A visible mark and a machine-readable mark

They answer different paragraphs. Machine-readable marking is what Article 50(2) asks providers for; a disclosure a viewer can perceive is what Article 50(4) asks deployers for. A product can do one and say nothing about the other. As of 2026-09-12.

Which columns the source fillsFilled where the page behind the row names something in that column, hollow where that page is silent. Silence is recorded rather than filled in.Which columns the source fillsWhere it sitsWhat the record holdsWhat the recordholdsMachine-readable, at generati…Machine-readable, at generationMachine-readable, at generation — Where it sits: Article 50(2), providerMachine-readable, at generation — What the record holds: One entry describes a schemeVisible on the deliverableVisible on the deliverable — Where it sits: Article 50(4), deployerVisible on the deliverable — What the record holds: Most entries describe oneBothBoth — Where it sits: Two duties on two partiesBoth — What the record holds: No entry here describes both
Fig. 1 Filled where the page behind the row names something in that column, hollow where that page is silent. Silence is recorded rather than filled in.
Which duty each kind of mark speaks to, and how many entries in this record describe each. Recorded 2026-09-12.
PointWhere it sitsWhat the record holds
Machine-readable, at generationArticle 50(2), providerOne entry describes a scheme
Visible on the deliverableArticle 50(4), deployerMost entries describe one
BothTwo duties on two partiesNo entry here describes both

Inclusion rule. Kinds are taken from what the paragraphs ask for, not from product vocabulary. An entry counts in a row only where the vendor's own pages describe that kind of mark. Order. Provider duty first, then deployer, then both.

1The two are not stronger and weaker versions of one thing

It is tempting to rank them: an invisible signal sounds more serious than a logo in the corner, so a product with one might seem to have covered the other. The paragraphs do not read that way. They impose separate obligations on separate parties, and the party that has to disclose to a viewer is usually not the party that built the generator.

That has a direct consequence for anyone buying a tool. A vendor's marking scheme, however good, does not discharge the buyer's own duty when the buyer is the one putting content in front of people. Reading a supplier's documentation as if it settled both is the most common way to end up with a gap nobody owns.

2What the record actually contains on each side

On the machine-readable side there is one entry that describes a signal embedded at generation and states what it is meant to survive. On the viewer side there are several, almost all of them plan features rather than policies, and one that sits in a compliance guide and gives a reason for the mark.

Nothing in the record describes both for the same product. That is the single most useful observation a reader can take from this page, and it is an observation about published material rather than about what the products do.

3Why this page does not conclude anything

Whether any particular arrangement satisfies either paragraph depends on facts about a deployment that no register holds: what was generated, who published it, to whom, and in what context. This record keeps the wording and the vendor statements side by side so that the question can be asked precisely, and leaves the answer to the people who have those facts.

What it will do is say when the two sides are not comparable. A plan feature and a technical description are different kinds of evidence, and a table that puts them in adjacent columns can make them look alike.

  • Article 50(2)
    Providers must mark synthetic audio, image, video and text in a machine-readable formatincluding general-purpose AI systemsAI Act Explorer, Article 50 / recorded 2026-09-12
  • Article 50(4)
    Deployers must disclose image, audio or video content that is a deep fakefirst subparagraphAI Act Explorer, Article 50 / recorded 2026-09-12
  • SceneMixer (scenemixer.com)
    A visible watermark is applied to composited episodes and is on by defaultan AI short-drama generatorSceneMixer, compliance guide / recorded 2026-09-12
  • SynthID
    An invisible watermark is embedded across Google's generative AI consumer products, added at the moment content is createdthe marking layer behind Google's video modelsGoogle DeepMind, SynthID / recorded 2026-09-12

4Sources

Article wording from AI Act Explorer, Article 50; vendor statements from the pages listed on each generator entry. Both read 2026-09-12. Related: Marks that come off, What the free tier does, The carve-outs.