Minister Rejects Lords’ Attempts to Force AI Firms to Disclose Use of Copyrighted Material

The Minister employs obscure parliamentary tactics to block amendments to data bills that demand artificial intelligence firms to reveal their use of copyrighted material.

Last week, the government removed the transparency amendment, backed by their colleagues in the House of Representatives. Consequently, there is no budget allocated for new regulations during the Commons discussion on Wednesday afternoon.

This amendment would have compelled tech companies to specify the copyrights utilized in their models.

168 members opposed, whereas 297 lawmakers voted for the elimination of the amendment.

Data Protection Minister Chris Bryant acknowledged that this situation “feels like an apocalyptic moment” for many in the creative sector, but he argued that a revision on transparency wouldn’t solve the core issues, emphasizing it “should be done comprehensively, not just piecemeal.”

Bryant stated that the more data bills are approved, the quicker he can move to update copyright laws.

Mrs. Kidron remarked that the Minister then responded with a roundtable session and misleading queries about technical solutions.

“It’s astonishing that the Labour government is abandoning the workforce of the entire sector. My inbox is flooded with messages from individual artists and global companies expressing that the government allows widespread theft and is comfortable with being associated with thieves. Yet, this government has chosen to disregard these concerns.

“Throughout the creative and business communities, as well as in Congress, people are bewildered by the government’s maneuvering over issues that affect their livelihoods.”

Kidron plans to propose a rephrased amendment next week, ahead of the bill’s return to the Lords, setting the stage for another round of contention. This proposal entails eliminating references to regulations or disregarding implemented timelines.

Owen Meredith, CEO of the News Media Association, commented: “It is regrettable that the government has overlooked the serious concerns of the creative sector, especially news publishers, regarding democratic values.

“Instead, the government has utilized Parliamentary measures to dismiss industry concerns, rather than seizing this critical opportunity to promote transparency that could enhance the UK’s vibrant licensing market for valuable creative content. The time remains for Parliament to support the UK’s creative industry while granting AI companies access to high-quality data. The focus is shifting towards the Lords. The government must acknowledge the urgent necessity to wield the required powers now.”

Recently, hundreds of artists and organizations, including Paul McCartney, Jeanette Winterson, Dua Lipa, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, urged the Prime Minister to “not sacrifice our work for the interests of a few powerful foreign tech companies.”

The government’s copyright proposal is set for consultations this year, but opponents of the plan are leveraging the data bill to voice their dissent.

The primary government proposition is to permit AI companies to utilize copyrighted works for model training without prior consent from copyright holders unless they choose to opt out.

The government contends that the creative and tech sectors are being hindered and that new legislation is essential to address this issue. They have already made one concession to the data bill by pledging to conduct an economic impact assessment of their proposal.

A spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology stated: “We aim to enable both the creative industry and AI companies to flourish. That’s why we’re negotiating individual packages of measures that we hope will benefit both sectors. We are not rushing into decision-making or advancing with legislation until we are confident we have a viable plan to achieve each objective.”