NMA Calls On Starmer To Keep Promise To Protect Copyright For World Leading Creative Sectors
Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech today unveiling details of the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, News Media Association chief executive Owen Meredith said: “AI has the potential to deliver huge benefits for our society – but degrading our gold standard copyright regime will make it harder, not easier, to realise these gains.
“The Plan’s assertion that there is a lack of clarity regarding UK copyright law is entirely misleading – the existing law needs enforcing, not weakening. It is also concerning that the Plan recommends that the UK imitate the EU’s opt-out approach to copyright. In fact, the EU approach serves as the prime example of the impracticality of such an approach, with the government’s own consultation acknowledging that there is ‘uncertainty about how it works in practice’.
“Last year, Keir Starmer rightly said that the creative sectors are central to driving economic growth and that the government recognises ‘the basic principle that publishers should have control over and seek payment for their work, including when thinking about the role of AI.’
“The Prime Minister must now deliver on this promise by maintaining our gold standard copyright regime.”