Skip to main content
    Insights · Social Ads

    Social Ads News Week 33/2026: Who Is Liable for AI Labels

    8 min read
    Quick Answer

    The EU AI Act's transparency obligations have been in effect since August 2, 2026. The new development is the legal interpretation: not just platforms, but advertisers and their agencies may also be required to label content. Meanwhile, Meta reported a 12 percent higher average price per ad for the second quarter of 2026, while Pinterest is becoming significantly cheaper in Europe. The most important task: clarify responsibility for AI labels in writing.

    At a Glance

    NewsWhat's ChangingWho It AffectsAction NeededSource + Date
    AI labeling also applies to agenciesAdvertisers and agencies may qualify as deployers under the EU AI ActAnyone running AI-generated creativesClarify responsibility in a contractLewis Silkin, July 31, 2026
    Meta signs EU Code of PracticeMeta commits to interoperable labeling of synthetic mediaMeta advertisers in the EEAMonitor label settingsMeta Newsroom, July 28, 2026
    Meta Q2 2026: price per ad up 12 percent$59.4 billion in ad revenue, impressions up 14 percentAll Meta advertisersRefine budget planningMeta Investor Relations, July 29, 2026
    Pinterest Europe: growth drops to 12 percentAsian retailers withdraw budgets after EU customs reformRetail, decor, food, weddingsSet aside a test budgetPPC Land, August 5, 2026
    TikTok Symphony: AI videos up to 30 secondsDreamina Seedance 2.5 doubles clip length, up to 50 referencesSmall and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) without an in-house video teamCheck accessSocial Media Today, August 3, 2026
    LinkedIn quietly changes creative rotationMessage and Conversation Ads default to optimized rather than even rotation through the APIB2B accounts using third-party toolsSet the parameter explicitlyThe B2B Content Show, July 30, 2026

    AI Labeling: Advertisers and Agencies Also Have Obligations

    Business law firm Lewis Silkin published an analysis on July 31, 2026, explaining that both advertisers and their agencies may qualify as deployers under the EU AI Act. Law firm Cooley confirmed on August 3, 2026, that the transparency obligations under Article 50 have been legally binding since August 2, 2026.

    The EU regulation on artificial intelligence, known in English as the EU AI Act, governs the use of artificial intelligence in the European Union. Article 50 addresses transparency and covers four categories: systems that interact directly with people, artificially generated content, biometric systems, and deepfakes. For existing generative systems, Cooley cites a second deadline of December 2, 2026. According to the same source, fines can reach €15 million or 3 percent of worldwide annual revenue.

    Two points from Lewis Silkin's analysis are critical to day-to-day work. First, labels must be clearly recognizable and understandable at the first point of contact. Second, a platform-applied label alone does not automatically fulfill your own obligation. Purely promotional copy unrelated to matters of public interest is exempt.

    What Does This Mean for Your Business?

    If your ad material comes entirely or partly from an AI tool, labeling is now part of the approval process, not an optional extra. Agree in writing on who applies the label and who checks it: you or your agency. At Stroe Media, we now record this responsibility in the proposal because otherwise it gets lost between the parties during the creative process.

    Meta Signs the EU Code of Practice on AI Transparency

    On July 28, 2026, Meta announced in its own newsroom that it was joining the voluntary EU Code of Practice on transparency of AI-generated content. Meta points to its labeling of AI-generated content on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, which has been underway since February 2024, and to a detection tool for images from Meta AI. The collaboration involves the EU AI Office and the Partnership on AI and C2PA initiatives.

    PPC Land added on July 28, 2026, that Meta signed six days after the deadline for the presumption of conformity. In the announcement, Meta itself warns that a proliferation of different labels could overwhelm users. According to PPC Land's analysis, it remains unclear where advertisers will find controls for these labels in Meta Ads Manager.

    What Does This Mean for Your Business?

    For you, this means the platform is taking action, but the controls are not yet visible. Do not assume that Meta will handle labeling entirely on your behalf. For each ad creative, document whether AI was involved in its creation and which tool was used. If questions arise, this list may be the only evidence you have.

    Meta Q2 2026: The Price per Ad Rises 12 Percent

    Meta published its second-quarter 2026 results on July 29, 2026. Ad revenue rose to $59.4 billion, up 27 percent year over year. The number of ads delivered increased 14 percent, and the average price per ad rose 12 percent.

    PPC Land also analyzed the earnings call on July 29, 2026. According to that analysis, European ad revenue was $10.85 billion, with 13 percent more impressions. More than 9 million small businesses use Meta's AI creative tools, up from 8 million in the first quarter. The Meta Advantage+ campaign suite has reached an annual run rate of $75 billion.

    What Does This Mean for Your Business?

    A 12 percent higher average price means the same budget buys fewer impressions than it did a year ago. Anyone who has not adjusted their Meta budget since 2025 is losing actual reach without anything appearing broken in the account. Plan for a higher starting budget this fall, and in return, check whether your ads are actually generating leads or just visibility.

    Pinterest Gets Cheaper in Europe as Low-Cost Sellers Pull Out

    PPC Land reported on Pinterest's quarterly results on August 5, 2026. European ad revenue grew just 12 percent to $212.7 million in the second quarter of 2026, down from 27 percent growth in the first quarter. Global revenue rose 18 percent to $1.179 billion, which Pinterest also reported in its own press release on August 4, 2026.

    PPC Land points to the EU customs reform as the cause: on July 1, 2026, the €150 duty-free threshold was eliminated and replaced with a flat €3 fee per item. Asian cross-border retailers subsequently withdrew from the European advertising market. Ad impressions rose 16 percent globally, but the price per ad increased only 1 percent. Chief Financial Officer Julia Donnelly said the pressure “is continuing in the third quarter”.

    What Does This Mean for Your Business?

    More ad inventory at virtually the same price creates a favorable window of opportunity. For retailers, furniture and decor sellers, food service businesses with visual content, and wedding and event service providers, a small test budget on Pinterest is now worth considering, particularly because low-cost import competitors are leaving the auction. Plan for four to six weeks and a budget you can afford even without immediate sales.

    TikTok Symphony Now Generates AI Videos up to 30 Seconds Long

    Social Media Today reported on August 3, 2026, that TikTok is integrating ByteDance's Dreamina Seedance 2.5 model into its Symphony suite. This increases the maximum clip length from 15 to 30 seconds and the number of image, video, and audio references that can be uploaded from 9 to 50. Timestamp-precise control of individual scenes is also new. The rollout covers selected paying advertisers in selected markets; TikTok does not name specific countries or dates.

    PPC Land provided context on August 9, 2026: the rollout took place one day after the transparency obligations under Article 50 of the EU AI Act took effect and includes automatic AI labeling, invisible watermarking, and Content Credentials based on the C2PA standard.

    What Does This Mean for Your Business?

    For businesses without an in-house video team, this significantly lowers the barrier to getting started with TikTok Ads, because 30 seconds is enough to communicate a complete offer. The built-in C2PA labeling also helps with the obligation under the EU AI Act. Check TikTok Ads Manager to see whether Symphony Creative Studio is enabled for your account before allocating a production budget.

    LinkedIn Quietly Changes Creative Rotation for Message Ads

    The B2B Content Show reported on July 30, 2026, that with Marketing API release 202607, LinkedIn automatically sets the creativeSelection parameter to optimized rather than even rotation for Message and Conversation Ads with a lead generation objective. The official LinkedIn Marketing API changelog on Microsoft Learn lists the adjustment for version 202607.

    The change is not visible in LinkedIn Campaign Manager. It affects campaigns run through third-party tools or custom integrations that do not explicitly set the parameter. The result: weaker creatives are throttled early, skewing A/B tests before they reach a reliable result. In the same release, LinkedIn added Predictive Audience IDs to the API response and a new user identifier for the Conversions API.

    What Does This Mean for Your Business?

    This is relevant to B2B businesses managing LinkedIn Message Ads through a third-party tool. Anyone working directly in Campaign Manager is not affected. If you need well-controlled creative tests, have the parameter explicitly set to even rotation; otherwise, you will be comparing creatives that never had an equal opportunity to be delivered.

    Instagram: Reels Accounts for More Than Half of Ad Placements

    On August 3, 2026, PPC Land reported, based on data from analytics firm Sensor Tower, that Reels accounted for roughly 51 percent of time spent on Instagram and more than 50 percent of ad placements in the second quarter of 2026. According to the report, daily Instagram usage rose 12 percent to 59 minutes, and the number of ads per session increased 8 percent. So far, only PPC Land has reported this analysis; there is no independent confirmation. According to the source, the data comes from a U.S.-focused panel with a cutoff date of June 30, 2026.

    What Does This Mean for Your Business?

    Even though the figures come from a U.S. panel, the trend matches our own experience in ad accounts: anyone producing only static feed creatives in a 4:5 portrait format is losing access to a large share of placements. Plan at least one vertical 9:16 video per campaign, even if it is shot on a smartphone.

    Specific Actions to Take This Week

    1. 1Create a list of all active ad creatives and mark which were created entirely or partly with AI. This list is the basis for every labeling question.
    2. 2Record in writing who applies and checks AI labels: your team or your agency. A line in the contract or proposal acceptance is enough.
    3. 3Compare your Meta cost per result in August 2026 with August 2025 and adjust your fall budget to account for the 12 percent increase in the average price per ad.
    4. 4Set up a Pinterest test campaign with a limited budget and a four- to six-week duration while auction competition in Europe is lower.
    5. 5Produce at least one vertical 9:16 video for each active Meta campaign and add it as another creative in the existing ad set.
    6. 6If you manage LinkedIn Message Ads through a third-party tool, have the rotation parameter checked and set to even rotation for ongoing creative tests.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    In many cases, yes. In its July 31, 2026, analysis, law firm Lewis Silkin explained that both advertisers and agencies may qualify as deployers under the EU AI Act. Labels must be clearly recognizable and understandable at the first point of contact. According to this analysis, purely promotional copy unrelated to matters of public interest is exempt.

    Not necessarily, according to Lewis Silkin's July 31, 2026, analysis. Platform-applied labels alone do not automatically fulfill your own obligation. Anyone using AI material in ads should therefore check for themselves whether the label is visible and understandable, rather than assuming that the platform fully covers the requirement.

    That is a matter for negotiation and should be agreed on in writing. In its July 31, 2026, analysis, Lewis Silkin explicitly recommends clarifying responsibility for labeling in a contract early in the creative process, because both parties may qualify as deployers. In practice, that means a line in the proposal or contract specifying who applies and checks the label.

    The figures point in that direction. On July 29, 2026, Meta reported that its average price per ad rose 12 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2026, while the number of ads delivered increased 14 percent. Ad revenue rose to $59.4 billion. For small budgets, a higher average price means that the same reach costs more than it did a year earlier.

    The window of opportunity is unusually favorable. According to PPC Land on August 5, 2026, Pinterest's European ad revenue grew just 12 percent in the second quarter of 2026, down from 27 percent, because Asian retailers withdrew budgets after the €150 duty-free threshold was eliminated on July 1, 2026. At the same time, impressions rose 16 percent, but the price per ad increased only 1 percent.

    Up to 30 seconds. Social Media Today reported on August 3, 2026, that TikTok is integrating the Dreamina Seedance 2.5 model into its Symphony suite, doubling the maximum clip length from 15 to 30 seconds. The number of image, video, and audio references that can be uploaded is increasing from 9 to 50. The rollout covers selected advertisers in selected markets.

    Conclusion

    The legal development is this week's most important news: labeling AI-generated content is not solely a platform responsibility; it may also apply to you and your agency. On the financial side, the quarterly results show two opposing trends. Meta is getting more expensive because the average price per ad has risen 12 percent. Pinterest is getting cheaper in Europe because Asian retailers are withdrawing budgets after the customs reform. Anyone considering both trends together will shift part of their test budget now.

    If you would like your social campaigns reviewed for labeling obligations and budget allocation, you can find our approach on our Social Media Marketing page, or contact us directly. Stroe Media GbR is an owner-managed web design and online marketing agency based in Geretsried, Bavaria, south of Munich, Germany. You can read about how Google Ads is changing at the same time in our search advertising article for Week 33. You can find the previous week's recap in Social Ads News Week 32/2026.

    Sources

    Author: Stroe Media Editorial Team, Updated: August 10, 2026

    Back to overview