By Robert Booth
Publication Date: 2025-12-16 05:00:00
A campaign led by pop stars including Elton John and Dua Lipa to protect artists’ works from exploitation by AI models without consent has received a boost after almost every respondent to a government consultation backed their case.
Ninety-five percent of the more than 10,000 people who weighed in on how music, novels, films and other works should be protected from copyright infringement by tech companies called for a strengthening of copyright law and a requirement for licensing in all cases or no change to copyright law.
In contrast, only 3% of people supported the government’s original preferred, tech-company-friendly option, which was to require artists and copyright holders to actively opt out of having their material fed into data-hungry AI systems.
Ministers subsequently dropped this preference in the face of a backlash. Artists who have spoken out against dilution of their copyright include Sam Fender, Kate Bush and the Pet Shop Boys. Activists to protect artists’ rights…
