CRA response to Government positions on AI and copyright
18 March 2026
Today the UK Government published the economic impact assessment and report on AI and copyright required under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, alongside a statement from the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall.
We welcome the Government’s shift away from its original proposal for a copyright exception for AI and an ‘opt-out’ mechanism for creators. This proposal would have significantly weakened UK copyright law, with creators opted-in to AI training by default, removing the need for creator consent and placing an unrealistic burden on creators to opt-out.
However, with policy decisions left outstanding, we are deeply concerned by the effect that the Government’s prolonged uncertainty will have on the rights and livelihoods of creators.
The Government’s position is that copyright enforcement should be “proportionate to ensure that the UK is able to access the latest technology and innovation”. There will be no regulatory oversight on transparency at this time, with no regulatory body to support routes for redress or impose sanctions. There is no commitment to the mandatory transparency measures that creators need to enforce their rights. However, recognising that this was the main measure supported by creators in their consultation, the Government will work with industry and other experts to develop best practice.
The Government acknowledges that creators’ works are used to train AI and that licensing is crucial to creators being paid for their work, yet they do not wish to intervene in the licensing market, meaning AI licensing remains voluntary.
The Government instead plans to explore these areas further, as well as the labelling of AI-generated content, technical tools for creators to retain control of their works, and digital replicas and personality rights - with a consultation taking place on the latter this summer.
Whilst many of the Government’s principles are in support of creators, the prolonged approach significantly benefits AI developers. Each day that the Government holds a question mark over copyright and AI is another day that AI developers exploit creators’ works without consent, recognition or payment. Thousands of creators - writers, illustrators, photographers, musicians and many more - have already lost work opportunities and income to generative AI - the technology that has been unlawfully built on their work.
We urge the Government to walk the talk and stand by our world-leading creative industries by upholding copyright law for AI development. This includes:
Fair and equitable licensing frameworks in which remuneration reaches individual creators;
A system that enables creators to ‘opt-in’ to their work being used, enabling them to maintain control and agency over the use of their works;
Mandatory transparency of AI training data;
Mandatory labelling of AI outputs for the public.
The Creators’ Rights Alliance is referenced throughout the Government report, and we will continue to work with the Government, providing robust evidence and advocating for creators’ rights, in the crucial months ahead.
Anna Ganley, CEO, Society of Authors and Chair, Creators’ Rights Alliance said:
“We are glad the Government agrees that creative workers should be paid fairly for their work. We have campaigned tirelessly to ensure that the unworkable opt-out and a commercial Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception,which would enable unrestricted use of copyright-protected works without licensing or remuneration, are finally off the table. We hope they stay off the table.
88% of respondents to the Government’s consultation supported the full licensing requirement for AI training, they roundly rejected an opt‑out system and a commercial exception to allow AI companies to train their models on copyright-protected works without permission or payment.
We look forward to working with Government to set a global standard for the ethical, human-centred deployment of generative AI in the UK. However, the pace of progress needs to match the speed at which AI is developing. With each day that passes, the uncertainly continues as does the impact on creators’ incomes, livelihoods and work opportunities. Failure to act is already having a catastrophic impact on the UK’s prized creative industries.”
Isabelle Doran, CEO, Association of Photographers and Co-Vice Chair, Creators Rights Alliance, said:
“As creator representatives, we are pleased to see the Government recognise the importance of the 'creator economy’ and rule out the preferred option once and for all. Also to hear of a stronger focus on how to support creatives. But, crucially the Lord’s report recommended taking decisive action within 12 months. We also strongly advocated for faster action now to protect our creators’ livelihoods. So to see that the next phase of work will take time to get right, is something our creators can ill afford to do. We hear already from professional photographers, with turnovers over £100k, saying they’re quitting, while others feel helpless over protecting their work, and still with no compensation in sight. We implore our Government to move much faster in order to support not supplant our creators.”
Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive, ISM and Co-Vice Chair, Creators’ Rights Alliance said:
“Creators and the creative industries have been united in warning the Government of the clear dangers to our world leading industries from generative AI. Despite this, they pressed on with their wrongheaded approach. It has taken nearly 18 months for the Government to take steps to correct a mistake that should never have been made in the first place.
Today’s statement belatedly acknowledges that our concerns were correct and suggests that the Government is finally listening.
We welcome many of the announcements today with one major caveat. The Government is ignoring the urgency of the situation. Our recent publication, Brave New World? showed that work is being lost now and creators are having their work scraped without consent or payment on an industrial scale.
Warm words are great but we need a solution which ensures that all creators are paid for their work – all the value chain must be fairly remunerated and not just those with the most bargaining power.
For the solutions creators and creative industries need, the Government only has to look to the recommendations set out in the recently published report from the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee.”
