Labour is plotting to delay new AI copyright laws by up to four years, it has been claimed.
The Government reportedly wants to conduct a full ‘technical review’ of its proposal to give Big Tech firms an exemption from copyright law when training their AI models.
But creators say the tech giants are already ‘burgling’ their work and need to be stopped urgently.
It is also feared that the technical review – which is framed as a concession to creators – will focus solely on the Government’s preferred option, effectively locking it into that course of action.
Combined with a full economic assessment, it could be another four years before new legislation is in place.
Baroness Kidron, an award-winning film director whose work includes Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason, accused ministers of ‘fiddling while Rome burns’.
She said: ‘The Government is simply kicking this into the long grass while Silicon Valley burgles our creative industry in plain sight.
‘Everybody knows there is widespread scraping of copyright material right now. They need to act, not let that continue while they take years deciding what to do next.
Baroness Kidron accused ministers of ‘fiddling while Rome burns’ as Labour plots to delay AI copyright laws by four years
‘Current copyright law would work if the Government agreed to my amendments, which simply say that AI companies must record when, where, why and what copyrighted material they have taken.
‘The house is on fire and the Government is suggesting that we review firefighters training. We need to fight the fire now.’
The Government’s preferred option would force creators to opt out of having their work ‘scraped’ by AI systems to train models.
Tech giants Open AI and Google have said they want even more freedom to do so than what is being suggested by the Government.
Baroness Kidron, who has met the Government over the issue, said she asked what the technical review would cover – but ministers would not say. She added: ‘If they have already decided it is to look at their preferred option, then they are simply showing their wilful ignorance of all the other possibilities.’
The Mail has been campaigning to protect Britain’s creative industries from the threat of AI.
Composer Ed Newton-Rex, who quit as vice-president of audio at AI firm Stability in 2023 in a row over the use of copyrighted music, condemned the possible delay.
‘The Government cannot use a delay as an excuse to turn a blind eye to intellectual property theft by AI companies,’ he said. ‘It must enforce existing copyright law and protect the rights of the country’s creators.
The Mail has been campaigning to protect Britain’s creative industries from the threat of AI
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle leaves 10 Downing Street after attending the weekly Cabinet meeting
‘The Government should have done this assessment before proposing an unfair change to the law. Coming so late in the process, it is hard to believe it will be a neutral review. The Government has made their preferred outcome clear – they want to upend copyright law to favour AI companies at the expense of the country’s creators.’
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology insisted no final decisions have been taken.
A spokesman said: ‘We have always been clear that no changes will be made until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers on each of our objectives.’
