Labour has U-turned on plans to make creatives ‘opt out’ of having their work mined by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Ministers had previously said that artists, musicians and publishers would have to object to their work being used by Big Tech.
But following a major backlash from stars including Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa, the Government backtracked on the plans.
‘We have listened,’ Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said, adding that ministers must take the time to ‘get this right’.
The Daily Mail is campaigning for authors, publishers and musicians to be paid a fair price for their work and to have their copyright respected.
Tech giants want an exemption to copyright law for their AI machines to learn from creative works without paying or crediting their owners.
In its report following a consultation on the issue, the Government said it ‘no longer has a preferred option’ on copyright.
The Government previously said its preferred option would be an exemption to copyright for training AI, so tech firms would not need a licence to use copyrighted material.
Dua Lipa is among the artists who have spoken out against AI using the work of musicians without compensating them
Creators would then need to opt out to prevent their work from being used.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall acknowledged this approach was ‘overwhelmingly rejected by the vast majority of the creative industries’ and said the Government no longer preferred this option.
‘It will take time to get this right. We will do so in a way that is in line with our own interests and values,’ she said.
The report suggested that while there could still be scope to change copyright law in future, any reform must compensate and protect creatives.
But it added: ‘We will not introduce reforms to copyright law until we are confident that they will meet our objectives for the economy and UK citizens.’
Elsewhere in the report, ministers said that they could require AI-generated content to be labelled to protect consumers from disinformation and deepfakes.
Ms Kendall announced a consultation on digital replicas – when someone’s likeness is replicated without their permission.
She also said she would also establish a taskforce to come up with proposals for how to label AI-generated content.
‘It can be helpful to consumers to understand whether content has been made using AI. It may also help protect against disinformation and harmful deepfakes,’ she said.
News Media Association chief executive, Owen Meredith, who represents news publishers, welcomed ministers changing their position on a copyright ‘opt out’ for AI.
‘We are pleased that the government has listened to concerns and taken the unworkable opt-out copyright exception off the table, recognising that giving away our goldmine of creative content is not the way to drive UK growth,’ he said.
However, he called for the Government to dismiss other exceptions for science and research or commercial research.
Baroness Keeley, chair of the Lords Digital Committee, said the report was a ‘welcome step’ towards a ‘more evidence-based approach’ to AI.
She said that the committee’s recent report had made it clear that ministers should rule out any weakening of copyright law.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Commons culture committee said the Government was ‘right to halt its proposed copyright reforms’ but said ministers should take action.
Mandy Hill, president of the Publishers Association, said the backtrack was a victory ‘over the self-interest of a handful of large corporations’.
Dr Jo Twist, chief executive of trade body for the UK music industry the BPI, said she was ‘pleased’ the Government had changed its position.
UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl said he was ‘delighted’ that ministers had scrapped what would have been a ‘deeply damaging change’.
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Labour finally abandons plan to make creatives ‘opt out’ of having their work mined by AI bots