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An influential US cross-media industry body has warned over the chilling effect on investment and activity in the UK if the government weakens copyright rules to allow artificial intelligence companies to scrape their content.
In a three-page letter sent to UK ministers this week, the Copyright Alliance, which represents some of the largest US media groups such as Disney, Fox, Paramount, Universal Music and Getty, set out its “strong opposition to the introduction of AI exceptions” to copyright rules.
The move comes just days before the government is expected to launch a consultation into AI and creative industries.
Industry executives are concerned the government will consult on a scheme that would allow AI companies to mine the internet freely to train algorithms on content from publishers and artists unless they “opt out”.
The intervention of large US media groups, including Hollywood film studios and music groups that invest billions of pounds in the UK, will add to the pressure on ministers to not water down copyright laws to encourage the development of AI models.
The letter, which has been seen by the Financial Times, was sent to Peter Kyle, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, and culture secretary Lisa Nandy.
“Any UK government action that degrades copyright — by creating an exception for AI use, for example — creates a legal environment that discourages UK and US creators and rights holders from participating and investing in creative endeavours within the United Kingdom,” it said.
Government officials have said the consultation has changed in recent weeks to be more of an open debate about the issue, in the hope of alleviating an angry backlash from the sector.
Talking to a select committee of MPs this week, Nandy said it would be a “genuine consultation” and that “no decision has been made . . . We’re trying to get the balance right”.
The letter from the Copyright Alliance said the UK’s approach to AI and copyright issues is “of profound significance to US creators and copyright owners because UK action will have a direct impact on the vitality and future of the two countries’ mutually supportive creative sectors”.
It added that “copyright . . . forms the backbone behind numerous US-UK collaborations”, citing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Peter Rabbit, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and James Bond.
The group urged the UK government to reject attempts to create AI-related exceptions that undermine copyright protections.
The letter, signed by its chief executive Keith Kupferschmid, said it “vehemently opposes so-called opt-out provisions, which subvert the fundamental nature of copyright and that would be unworkable in practice”.
It added: “Copyright laws should not be cast aside in favour of new policies obligating creators to effectively subsidise AI technologies under the misguided belief that doing so is necessary to incentivise AI technologies.”
The group urged the UK government to “continue its long-standing leadership role and stand with the United States as a champion of the creative community and the copyright laws on which it relies”.
The government said: “We continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders including holding recent roundtables with AI developers and representatives of the creative industries, and will set out next steps through a public consultation soon.”
