At an April 8 summit on AI, held in Washington, D.C., by the Association of American Publishers and the Copyright Alliance, Vermont senator Peter Welch and former Virginia representative Bob Goodlatte, among others, stressed that copyright protections should not be dismantled to accelerate AI development.
Source: Politicians Assert U.S. Constitution Mandates Protecting Creativity
Among the ways Europe plans to bolster regional AI developments are a commitment to build a network of AI factories and “gigafactories” and create specialized labs designed to improve the access of startups to high-quality training data. The bloc will also create a new AI Act Service Desk to help regional firms comply with its landmark AI law.
Source: Europe unveils plan to become ‘AI continent’ with simpler rules, more infrastructure
This past weekend in China, Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “A Minecraft Movie” conquered the box office and broke the hegemony of local blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” which grossed $2.11 billion after a 10-week reign. But it might be a short-lived triumph thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariffs.
Source: Could Trump’s Tariffs Lead to China Banning Hollywood Films?
The European Commission is finalizing a plan to make its artificial intelligence rules more palatable to companies, as they scramble to adapt to American tariffs that have sent shockwaves through the global economy. The EU executive will launch a new “AI Continent” plan on Wednesday. According to an undated draft of the plan, the executive wants to “streamline” rules and get rid of “obstacles” that it feels are slowing companies in Europe down in competing with the U.S. and China.
Source: Europe prepares AI charm offensive as industry trembles from tariff shocks
After inching oh-so-close to a deal to secure TikTok in the US, China apparently pressed hard pause on the arrangement following Trump’s tariff slap. So what does that mean for the music industry? If you love uncertainty, this one’s for you. Trump is now extending the ban by another 75 days, though a hard clock is now ticking on a deal that was apparently 99% done. Apple is seeking White House assurance that the app can remain on its App Store.
Source: And After All That, TikTok Could Still Go ‘Poof’ – Digital Music News
European Union regulators are preparing major penalties against Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, for breaking a landmark law to combat illicit content and disinformation, said four people with knowledge of the plans, a move that is likely to ratchet up tensions with the United States by targeting one of President Trump’s closest advisers.
Creating and sharing deceptive media made with artificial intelligence is now a crime in New Jersey and open to lawsuits under a new state law. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation Wednesday making the creation and dissemination of so-called deceptive deepfake media a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, and establishing a basis for lawsuits against perpetrators.
Source: Creating and sharing deceptive AI-generated media is now a crime in New Jersey
OpenAI has published its response to the government’s consultation on the plans, and it calls for “a broad text and data mining exception” minus the opt-out aspect. Why? OpenAI cites the way the European Union’s AI legislation works, criticising it for having “created uncertainty about what opt-out methods are workable and valid, causing uncertainty for both AI companies and rightsholders”.
Source: OpenAI and Google don’t like UK’s ‘opt out’ AI training plans either
National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) president/CEO David Israelite joined the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) to give his annual State of Music Publishing address on Wednesday (April 2) at Lawry’s in Beverly Hills. In his speech, Israelite discussed hot button issues for publishers, including Spotify bundling (“we are still at war”), AI concerns, PRO reform and more.
Source: NMPA CEO Talks Spotify Podcast Takedowns and AI Strategy, Warns Against Government-Led PRO Reform
Leading AI companies OpenAI and Google have rejected the U.K. government’s preferred solution to the thorny issue of AI and copyright. Their positions, set out in responses to a consultation which closed in February, will pile further pressure on the government over the proposals, which have already sparked protests from creatives and lawmakers.