UK Data Bill stalls as lawmakers fail to find common ground on AI copyrights

A critical piece of UK legislation, the Data Bill has intensified a standoff between government and a coalition of artists and creative industry leaders on how developers can use copyrighted material.

According to the BBC, the bill in question aims to clarify how AI systems can use existing data for their models. However, a fierce row has started between ministers and peers who back the artists, with no quick solution in sight.

The Data Bill has divided UK legislators

The conflict, which stems from how best to balance the needs and demands of the two powerful industries in the UK, that is the tech and creative industries, might not just be about AI only. It also touches on human issues at the heart of the impasse, which are job security and creativity.

The bill, once expected to smoothly pass into law this week has become a ping-pong game between the House of Commons and the House Lords.

According to the BBC, the contention is about coming up with the best way to allow the tech industry access creative content to enhance their AI models without disadvantaging the livelihoods of those who created that particular content.

At the center of the disagreement is the UK government’s proposal that AI developers be granted access to creative content unless individual owners actively decide to opt out. But, this approach has drawn firm opposition as about 300 members of the House of Lords disagree with this, arguing that AI developers should be forced to disclose which copyrighted material they use to train their tools. By so doing, this will lead to licensing and fair compensation.

Former president of global affairs at Meta, Sir Nick Clegg is among those that support the bill. He is of the view that by asking permission from all copyright holders will “kill the AI industry.”

Other legislators want the bill amended

Leading the charge against the bill is Baroness Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer and former film director, known for films like Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Baroness Kidron warns that without changes, ministers would be “knowingly throwing UK designers, artists, authors, musicians, media and nascent AI companies under the bus.”

She accuses the government of enabling “state sanctioned theft” from a creative industry worth £124 billion. Resultantly, she is now asking for an amendment to the bill, requiring Technology Secretary Peter Kyle to give a report to the House of Commons on how the new law will impact the creative industry in three months.

Adding complexity to the matter is Kyle, who also appears to have shifted his views on UK copyright law as he once described the law as “very certain.” However, he is now saying that the copyright law is now “not fit for purpose.”

The origins of the conflict trace back to when AI developers, especially large US firms scraped vast amounts of data from the internet without payment, using it to train their AI tools that are now capable of creating texts, images and also mimic famous artists.

This ignited a backlash from creators like Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, and Dua Lipa who called the practice theft and a threat to artists’ livelihoods.

Recently, Sir Elton John said that the government was on course to “rob young people of their legacy and their income,” calling the current administration “absolute losers.”

Elsewhere, the founder of Japan’s famous Studio Ghibli once described AI’s use in animation as “an insult to life itself.” Recently, there was a wave of Studio Ghibli style images that went viral on the internet and social media platforms after OpenAI released an update for its ChatGPT.

However, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology says that they are carrying out wider consultation on these matters and will not consider changes to the bill unless they are satisfied that they work for creators.

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