Leading British artists including Mick Jagger, Kate Bush and Paul McCartney have urged Keir Starmer to stand up for creators\u2019 human rights and protect their work ahead of a UK-US tech deal during Donald Trump\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n
In a letter to the prime minister, they argued Labour had failed to defend artists\u2019 basic rights by blocking attempts to force artificial intelligence firms to reveal what copyrighted material they have used in their systems.<\/p>\n
Senior figures in US tech are accompanying the US president on his state visit, where an announcement is expected on a UK-US tech pact covering areas including AI.<\/p>\n
Elton John, one of the letter\u2019s signatories, said government proposals to let AI companies train their systems<\/a> on copyright-protected work without permission \u201cleaves the door wide open for an artist\u2019s life work to be stolen\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not accept this,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd we will not let the government forget their election promises to support our creative industries.\u201d<\/p>\n Other signatories include Annie Lennox, the writer Antonia Fraser, and the actor and playwright Kwame Kwei Armah. Creative organisations backing the letter include the News Media Association, which represents news publishers including the Guardian\u2019s owner the Guardian Media Group, the Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, and Mumsnet. There are more than 70 signatories in total.<\/p>\n The letter claims that copyright law is being flouted \u201cen masse\u201d by tech companies to build AI models and raises the government\u2019s refusal to accept amendments to the recent data (use and access) bill that would have forced AI firms to reveal what copyrighted material they have used in their systems.<\/p>\n Such a move \u201cactively stood in the way\u201d of creators exercising their human rights, the letter adds, referring to the UN\u2019s international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights (ICESCR), the Berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic works and the European convention on human rights \u2013 the latter enforceable in the UK through the Human Rights Act.<\/p>\n The letter points to a provision in the ECHR stating that \u201cno one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest\u201d, adding that removing the amendments breached UK citizens\u2019 rights, under the ICESCR, to \u201cthe protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is author\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government\u2019s formal position has exhibited a shocking indifference to mass theft, and a complete unwillingness to enforce the existing law to uphold the human rights stipulated by the ICESCR, the Berne Convention and the ECHR,\u201d said the letter.<\/p>\n