Creative industries unite in copyright campaign against AI content scraping
The UK’s creative industries have launched the Make It Fair campaign, aimed at protecting their rights in the face of potential legal changes that could jeopardise copyright protections for their content. The campaign coincides with the closing of a key government consultation on copyright law, which many in the industry feel could allow global tech firms to exploit creative work without consent or compensation.
The initiative highlights concerns that new generative AI models, which rely on vast amounts of data scraped from the internet, may use content from newspapers, books, music, and other creative outlets without proper attribution or remuneration. This issue could have far-reaching implications for an industry that currently contributes over £120 billion to the UK economy.
On 25 February, the final day of the government consultation, numerous regional and national newspapers plan to run a unified cover wrap and homepage takeover, delivering a clear message: “MAKE IT FAIR: 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.”
Owen Meredith, CEO of the News Media Association, spoke passionately about the stakes involved, asserting that the UK already boasts robust copyright laws that fuel growth and job creation within the creative sector. He argued for the necessity of these laws in maintaining the viability of high-quality journalism, which he views as essential for a healthy democracy.
“The only thing which needs affirming is that these laws also apply to AI,” Meredith stated, adding that transparency measures are needed to ensure creators are aware when their work is used. He warned that weakening copyright protections could effectively legalise the theft of creative content, launching a rallying call to the public to advocate for the protection of the sector.
Weekly publications are expected to continue the campaign efforts into the following week, urging individuals to contact their MPs and voice their support for the creative industries. The collective action among news brands represents a significant pushback against what many fear is an impending shift in the legal landscape that could favour powerful tech companies at the expense of creators.
