Reading empty (new) AT24C16 I2C EEPROM - 0xFF or 0x00?
An erased EEPROM normally reads as 0xFF, but it may also contain seemingly random data. We've had this often in microcontroller's Flash, which sometimes has code programmed in it for production testing. This may also be done with EEPROM. Start with erasing the device if you want to be sure.