National and regional newspapers across the country have this week joined forces, with cover wraps and supportive editorials, to back the ‘Make it Fair’ campaign.
Here are snippets from some of the editorials published this week:
- The i Paper: Labour intends to change the UK’s gold standard copyright laws to make it easier for AI companies to use British creative content without payment or permission. That’s already illegal in the UK. The Government disingenuously claims there is “uncertainty” in British copyright law, when this is evidently not the case.
- The Sun: Think of the creative and cultural wonders Britain has given the world. The Beatles and the Stones. Oasis and Blur. James Bond and Star Wars. Harry Potter and The Lord of The Rings. The Office and The Crown. Music, films, television, writing and art from these tiny islands have been enjoyed by billions. Our robust Free Press remains the envy of the world and the UK acts as a global powerhouse of ingenuity. But now this extraordinary originality faces a potentially fatal threat from the unlicensed use of content by AI developers.
- The Times: Talk may be cheap but words and music are not. Creators and publishers of copyrighted material, such as this newspaper, have the legal right to decide who has access to it and on what terms… Britain’s intellectual property safeguards are in danger of being fatally undermined in a data Wild West in which the work of individuals and organisations is judged fair game by AI companies seeking to profit from it at no cost to themselves.
- Daily Mail: It would allow them to Hoover up any material published online — be it books, music or journalism — and train their machines without having to compensate those who laboured so hard to create it.
- The Independent: If we want great literature, art and journalism to survive and prosper — and to create the content for AI long into the future — then this whole sector has to be placed on a sustainable financial footing. It’s only fair.
- Daily Mirror: Unless changes are made, tech billionaires, often in far away countries, will be allowed to take the work of British artists, journalists and authors without paying for it. This is bad for journalism and it’s bad for you. A healthy media is an essential part of a fair and democratic society. We support positive technological change and we embrace innovation. But the law must protect what is most important and pave a responsible way forward. We are urging the Labour government not to side with big tech on this.
- The Telegraph: While over-regulation will kill AI, a free-for-all is reckless. The impact on creative industries, worth £120bn a year, is just one way the world is changing to accommodate AI. Copyright is automatic at the moment, but under Labour’s plans, a holder would need a licence to opt out of the exception. This approach will undermine the country’s creative talent. The Telegraph and other newspapers today urge the Government to back down and Make IT Fair.
Launching the campaign, Owen Meredith, CEO of News Media Association, said: “We already have gold-standard copyright laws in the UK. … And for a healthy democratic society, copyright is fundamental to publishers’ ability to invest in trusted quality journalism. The only thing which needs affirming is that these laws also apply to AI, and transparency requirements should be introduced to allow creators to understand when their content is being used. Instead, the government proposes to weaken the law and essentially make it legal to steal content.”
Let’s hope the government is listening…
You can catch James Evelegh’s regular column in the InPubWeekly newsletter, which you can register to receive here.
