Creative bodies slam government for inertia on AI copyright protection

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) and screenwriters Sarah Phelps and Danny Brocklehurst are among creatives condemning the UK government for failing to clamp down on tech giants using AI to harvest copyrighted works without permission.

An open letter, signed by more than 70 individuals and creative organisations, demands prime minister Kier Starmer justify his government’s “active ignoring” of copyright holders’ rights and their protection.

The signatories, which also include cultural icons such as Sir Paul McCartney and Elton John, are calling on the government to set out reasoning for its lack of action on AI companies that have “ingested millions of copyright works without permission or payment, in total disregard for the UK’s legal protections”.

“We are concerned that the law is being flouted en masse by predominantly overseas tech companies to the fundamental detriment of the UK’s £127bn creative industries and in violation of creator’s human rights,” the letter states.

“Even Ministers have recognised that ‘much content has already been used and subsumed by AI models, usually from other territories and under the current law’.

“This means UK citizens are experiencing consistent and deliberate breaches of their rights under human rights law.”

Additionally, the letter criticised government for its sluggishness in enshrining protections against AI in law, and questions whether ministers have “actively stood in the way” of progress.

“Ministers have offered no timeline and no planned action with regard to those violations. Indeed, the government has repeatedly acted to remove amendments which would have empowered copyright holders to exercise their rights during the passage of the Data (Use and Access) Bill,” it continued.

The open letter comes as president Donald Trump arrives in the UK for a second state visit, with the UK government looking to finalise a tech trade agreement with the US during Trump’s visit.

It is understood ministers are keen that AI forms a key component of any deal struck.

Baroness Beeban Kidron, who tabled amendments during the passage of the Data Act that would have allowed UK creatives to assert their rights, said: “The government have asked the creative sector to trust in their process, then they packed their Industry Working Groups with US interests, made multiple deals with AI companies who have stolen copyright material, and then ministers left the building.

“Following the reshuffle, it is for the prime minister himself to reset the relationship between government and industry.

“If the government cannot grasp the economic or cultural importance of this issue, perhaps this action – setting out the clear contravention of international and UK human rights law – will help clarify the seriousness of their position.

“It’s deeply regrettable that it has come to this, but by prioritising the short-term optics of data centre announcements and trade deals, they are knowingly undermining the foundations of the UK’s creative industries.”