Britain is moving to let artificial intelligence (AI) companies freely scrape online content unless publishers block them — a policy shift the BBC and other major media companies are fighting. The showdown could influence AI policy beyond Britain’s borders as global content publishers and tech firms watch to see whether content scraping becomes the default standard in advanced economies.
Source: AI Rules in Britain Test Global Content Rights Balance | PYMNTS.com
Prompted by concerns aired by photographers, French telecoms regulator Arcom sought to evaluate content recognition tools deployed at online content-sharing platforms. Meta’s Rights Manager and Pinterest’s Claim Portal were of particular interest, but both companies denied Arcom’s request to measure their effectiveness. Despite the regulator’s authority under law, private agreements with rightsholders took priority.
Source: Meta Denied Regulator’s Request to Test Rights Manager’s Effectiveness * TorrentFreak
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said in a letter to the News Media Association that his government “recognizes the basic principle” that publishers should seek compensation for the use of their content by artificial intelligence companies. Marking the start of the NMA‘s annual “Journalism Matters” week, the Labour leader said both AI and the media were “central” to the government’s growth goals and he hoped to “rebalance” the relationship between platforms and publishers using the Digital Markets and Consumers Act.
Source: Keir Starmer: AI companies should pay publishers for content
The UK’s new culture secretary Lisa Nandy gave a speech at the Beyond the Music conference in Manchester with some hints on its music plans. That included a nod to the debates about streaming. “While it’s made music more freely available, it’s created shockwaves for songwriters, publishers, record labels and streaming platforms,” said Nandy.
Source: UK’s culture secretary talks streaming economy and AI music
Classic hip-hop group 2 Live Crew have won a jury verdict allowing them to regain legal control of the majority of their catalog from a small record label that has owned their copyrights for decades. Attorneys for Lil Joe Records, which bought the band’s catalog out of bankruptcy back in 1996, insisted that termination shouldn’t apply to 2 Live Crew’s albums, arguing the catalog was “work for hire.” But 2 Live Crew’s attorneys countered that the right to terminate was “inalienable” and couldn’t be forfeited, with which the jury agreed.
Source: 2 Live Crew Wins Back Copyright Control of Their Work
The implementation of the EU’s AI Act is the most recent in a series of laws emanating from Brussels that have divided opinion, hot on the heels of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) which came into force in 2018 and 2023 respectively. Yes, the act undoubtedly has flaws, but its pros far outweigh its cons.
Source: AI regulation gets a bad rap—but lawmakers around the world are doing a decent job so far
Some of the most prominent artificial intelligence models are falling short of European regulations in key areas such as cybersecurity resilience and discriminatory output, according to data seen by Reuters. A new tool, which has been welcomed by European Union officials, has tested generative AI models developed by big tech companies like Meta tab and OpenAI across dozens of categories, in line with the bloc’s wide-sweeping AI Act, which is coming into effect in stages over the next two years.
Source: EU AI Act checker reveals Big Tech’s compliance pitfalls
French President Emmanuel Macron has reignited the debate on music streaming payments, expressing concerns about the fairness of the current model for artists. “Today, with music streaming services, singers do not receive fair remuneration,” Emmanuel Macron said. “In the case of streaming, they decide to pay people who are streamed a lot very well. But in the music field, for instance, they undervalue a variety of artists who have average following.”
Source: Macron calls for fairer music streaming model after France imposes ‘music streaming tax’
A federal judge ordered Google to pry open its Android app store to competition Monday, continuing a wave of challenges to its power and that of other U.S. technology giants. U.S. District Judge James Donato largely sided with Epic Games, creator of the Fortnite video games, which won a jury verdict last year that found the Google Play app store operated as an illegal monopoly.
Source: U.S. judge orders sweeping changes to Google’s Android app store
The IFRRO general assembly this week has been comprised of 150 members from 80 nations, and from that plenary, the organization has issued a statement that calls the recommendations of Access Copyright and Copibec, an ”initiative intended “to restore a viable market for the reproduction of copyrighted works in the Canadian educational environment, in line with international copyright commitments.”
Source: Canadian Copyright Crisis: IFRRO Calls on Ottawa For Reform