Former Meta executive warns against artists’ demands for AI copyright laws

Former Meta executive Nick Clegg said forcing AI tech companies to ask for permission before using copyrighted content to train AI models would destroy the industry. He spoke during the Charleston Festival in East Sussex. He argued that AI is already capable of creating its art.

During a recent interview with The Times of London, Clegg, the former UK  Deputy Prime Minister, engaged in a heated debate over AI copyright laws. He commented when parliament members voted against proposals allowing copyright holders to see when their work had been used to train AI systems and by whom. 

Creatives urge the government to balance copyright laws 

Music legends like Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney have urged the UK government not to change copyright laws to favor big tech firms. The creatives warned that the proposal to change copyright protection laws risks destroying the livelihoods of more than 2.5 million people who work in the creative industry.

“The safest road to Hell is the gradual one… the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

C. S. Lewis didn’t account for Lib Dem sherpas sadly…
Clegg (yes him) saying Artists demands over copyright are unworkable in AI age

— Andrew Walker (@Andrew_E_Walker) May 26, 2025

Clegg argued that the demands of artists and prominent creative figures to require tech firms to seek permission before using copyrighted materials to train AI models are unworkable and implausible. He continued to point out that AI systems have already used a significant portion of the data readily available online,

The former UK  Deputy Prime Minister suggested that people should have a straightforward way to opt out of using their content. He viewed the idea of AI companies having to seek permission as something that collides with the physics of the technology itself.  He added that the idea would kill the UK’s AI industry overnight if applied in the UK alone.  

Describing copyright as the lifeblood of their profession, the UK creative community wrote an open letter to Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the UK, warning that the proposed changes to copyright laws would threaten Britain’s status as the leading creative power.

The open letter said that the UK creative community would lose immense growth opportunities if it gave away its work to a small group of powerful tech companies. The letter reiterated the UK’s position as a creative powerhouse and the hopes that technology will embody the country’s values.

Dua Lipa among artists urging Starmer to rethink AI copyright laws

David Furnish, Coldplay, Tom Dixon, and John Pawson, among hundreds of others, represented the UK creative community as signatories to the open letter. The letter urged Starmer to support Baroness Beeban Kidron’s amendment to the Data Bill. The Data Bill would give the UK creative transparency over the copyright works used to train AI models.

According to the letter, transparency would allow creators and creative businesses to hold AI firms accountable for stealing creative works. The letter urged the government to accept the amendment and allow AI developers and creators to develop licensing regimes enabling human-created content. 

Elsewhere in the U.S., Hollywood recently wrote a letter to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in which more than 400 creatives, including director Guillermo del Toro and actor Cynthia Erivo, signed to urge the U.S. government to uphold existing copyright protections against AI. 

Many prominent creative figures in Hollywood signed the letter in response to Trump’s administration’s request for public comments on the White House’s AI Action Plan. The plan aimed to secure and advance the country’s position in the AI industry.

Silicon Valley tech companies and OpenAI wrote separate letters arguing that they should be able to train AI models using publicly available content under the fair use doctrine. The doctrine allows for the limited reproduction of material without permission from the copyright holder.

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