UK creative industries launch campaign against AI tech firms' content use

Independent

25-02-2025

The UK 's creative industries have launched a new campaign to fight back against their content being used for free by global tech AI firms.
Campaigners have warned that the arts face an 'existential threat' from AI models which scrape creative content from the internet without permission or payment.
It comes at the end of a government consultation which will determine whether to let tech companies use content without permission unless the creators specifically say 'no'.
Those affected could include artists, authors, journalists, illustrators, photographers, filmmakers, scriptwriters, singers and songwriters, who argue that they will now have to police their work.
The campaign has stressed that if the government legitimises this use of content, the impact will be devastating on an industry which collectively brings in £120bn per year to the UK economy.
Throughout the next week, media outlets will run the 'Make It Fair' campaign with the message: 'The government wants to change the UK's laws to favour big tech platforms so they can use British creative content to power their AI models without our permission or payment. Let's protect the creative industries – it's only fair.'
Launching the campaign today, Owen Meredith, CEO of News Media Association, said: 'We already have gold-standard copyright laws in the UK. They have underpinned growth and job creation in the creative economy across the UK – supporting some of the world's greatest creators – artists, authors, journalists, scriptwriters, singers and songwriters to name but a few.
'And for a healthy democratic society, copyright is fundamental to publishers' ability to invest in trusted quality journalism.
'The only thing which needs affirming is that these laws also apply to AI, and transparency requirements should be introduced to allow creators to understand when their content is being used. Instead, the government proposes to weaken the law and essentially make it legal to steal content.
'There will be no AI innovation without the high-quality content that is the essential fuel for AI models. We're appealing to the great British public to get behind our 'Make It Fair' campaign and call on the government to guarantee creatives are able to secure proper financial reward from AI firms to ensure a sustainable future for both AI and the creative industries.'
Launching a music industry campaign to coincide with the 'Make It Fair' campaign, choral composer Ed Newton-Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for training data practices that respect creators' rights, said: 'One thousand UK musicians released a joint album today, recordings of empty studios, calling on the government to change course or risk empty studios becoming the norm.
'The government's proposals would hand the life's work of the UK's talented creators – its musicians, its writers, its artists – to AI companies, for free. The government must change course and make it fair.'