By Lauren Almeida
Publication Date: 2026-02-16 08:25:00
ByteDance, the Chinese tech company behind TikTok, has reportedly announced that it will restrict its AI video creation tool after Disney threatened legal action and other media companies responded.
AI video generator Seedance 2.0, released last week, has shocked Hollywood by allowing users to create realistic clips of movie stars and superheroes with just a quick text prompt.
Several major Hollywood studios accuse the tool of copyright infringement.
Walt Disney reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance on Friday, accusing the company of providing Seedance with a “pirated library” of the studio’s characters, including characters from Marvel and Star Wars, according to US news outlet Axios.
According to a BBC report, Disney’s lawyers claimed that ByteDance had committed a “virtual robbery” of their intellectual property.
However, the TikTok owner told the BBC that he “respects intellectual property rights and we have heard concerns about….”
