Written statement: Copyright and AI Progress - Mar 18

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Liz Kendall): Today I am publishing a report and impact assessment on Copyright and AI which will also be laid in Parliament. This fulfils the commitment under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and sets out our proposed next steps on Copyright and AI.

Our creative industries are the best in the world, and part of what makes us proud to be British. They are one of our greatest exports, connect us to one another, and help us to shape and define our national story. They are at the heart of our Industrial Strategy, as one of the eight sectors that we believe offer the greatest potential for growth and good jobs in every part of the UK. They contribute £146 billion to the economy, are growing at two-and-a-half times the rate of the rest of the economy, and support 7% of all UK jobs. They are a world-leading, national asset that does not just offer us potential now, but well into the future. We want to see them continue to flourish and lead the world.

Artificial Intelligence is the technological revolution of our times. It is a key national strength, and crucial to our future prosperity. We have the third biggest AI sector in the world, and it is growing 23 times faster than the rest of the economy. We are rapidly moving to a more sophisticated world of agents and AI being embodied in the physical world, such as in robotics. This technology is too important for the UK to be overly dependent on a small number of firms based in other countries. The UK must be an AI maker, not an AI taker.

The UK has always led in science, creativity and innovation. We reject any suggestion that we must choose between our creative industries and the UK's AI sector. Both are central to the government's industrial strategy and vital to the UK's future prosperity.

So, our approach to copyright will be driven by our shared principles and values. This means protecting the UK's position as a creative powerhouse while unlocking the extraordinary potential of AI-driven innovation to grow the economy and improve British lives.

Our commitments

We believe that people should be paid fairly for the work that they do. It should not be that only the big and powerful can assert their rights. We also believe that championing innovation is critical to new discoveries, creating growth, driving social mobility, and allowing new talent and ideas to break through.

Today, we are making three commitments:

1. We will do what is right for the whole British economy. This includes both our creative industries and the UK AI sector.
2. We will help creatives control how their work is used. This sits at the heart of our ambition for creatives – including independent and smaller creative organisations – to be paid fairly.
3. We will unlock the extraordinary potential of AI-driven innovation to grow the economy, and secure sovereign capability for the UK.

The Way Forward

At the end of 2024, the Government published a consultation on copyright and AI. At that stage, the Government's preferred way forward was to enable AI developers to train on copyright works, but to give rightsholders the ability to opt-out of this regime. This was overwhelmingly rejected by the vast majority of the creative industries.

We have listened. We have engaged extensively with creatives, AI firms, industry bodies, unions, academics and AI adopters, and that engagement has shaped our approach. This is why we can confirm today that the Government no longer has a preferred option.

We are not the only government facing this challenge. The United States, European Union, Australia, India, and many other governments are trying to find a way through. As the recent Lords Communications and Digital Committee report on AI, copyright and the creative industries recognised, it will take time to get this right. We will do so in a way that is in line with our own interests and values.

Our work programme

We have identified four areas where we will focus the next phase of this work.

1. Digital Replicas. ‘Digital replicas' can be a powerful tool, including for the creative industries. However, when someone's likeness is replicated without their permission it can be harmful. We will launch a consultation in the summer to seek views on how we address these harms, while protecting legitimate innovation.
2. Labelling AI-generated content. It can be helpful to consumers to understand whether content has been made using AI. It may also help protect against disinformation and harmful deepfakes. We will establish a taskforce to put forward proposals for government on best practice for labelling AI-generated content, with an interim report to be published in autumn.
3. Creator control and transparency. We will publish a review of the mechanisms available for creators to control their works online. This will include standards, technical solutions and best practice on input transparency. This review will inform where there are gaps and whether there is an appropriate role for government in addressing them.
4. Independent creatives. We will launch a working group on independent and smaller creative organisations to explore whether there is a role for government to support their ability to license their content.

In addition, the UK Government is committed to establishing a Creative Content Exchange (CCE) as set out in our Creative Industries Sector Plan. The intention is for the CCE to be a trusted marketplace for digitised cultural and creative assets. The CCE is supported by funding from UKRI and is sponsored by DCMS. A pilot phase has been launched with an early adopter cohort of public institutions.

Making the UK the best place to build and adopt AI

Finally, we are committed to ensuring the UK remains one of the best places in the world to build and adopt innovative AI. That is why, yesterday, the Chancellor set out the Government's commitment to the UK's AI sector. Including:

1. In April, we will launch the new Sovereign AI Unit, backed by £500m to build new UK AI businesses.
2. We are backing workers who want to move firms by placing limits on the use of non-compete clauses which stifle innovation and dynamism.
3. We have reformed the mandate of the British Business Bank and put £5 billion behind scale-ups.
4. We are running a new Advanced Market Commitment, pledging to procure up to £100m of new computing hardware produced by UK firms.
5. We are putting £1bn into publicly owned supercomputers which our researchers – whether they are in academia or in SMEs – can use for free for AI work. That is a leg up to some of our brightest and best who want to use these tools.
6. The Chancellor will convene top CEOs this summer for an AI Adoption Summit, bringing together leading tech firms with companies ready to adopt and scale AI to grow their businesses.

Working Together

We are determined to make progress on these issues for the benefit of the whole economy. We will continue to work closely with parliamentarians and all stakeholders throughout this process. We are committed to finding regular opportunities to benefit from the experience and insight of MPs and Lords.

Together, this work will shape our country for decades to come. By taking time to get this right, we can make Britain the best place in the world for art, literature, music and filmmaking, and be the go-to country for safe, responsible AI – the kind that lifts our economy and brings opportunity to millions. We are determined to create a future that we are proud to say reflects the best of us. A confident, ambitious nation; full of optimism for what lies ahead.

We will arrange opportunities to discuss these issues further with both MPs and Lords in the coming weeks and months.