The news publishing sector has united with other creative industries to oppose UK Gogernment plans to weaken copyright and intellectual property laws to spur economic growth from artificial intelligence (AI).
Most news publications ran wraps and digital adverts throughout the day (February 25) to highlight moves to protect their content from free text and data mining by tech companies, as proposed by the government, and Newsbrands Scotland fully supports the campaign.
It is also backed by several high-profile individuals, with Kate Bush, Sir Stephen Fry and Dua Lipa signing a letter to today’s Times.
Newsbrands Scotland Director John McLellan said: “The current laws governing copyright and intellectual property are very clear, and the UK Government’s plan to introduce an “opt out” regime in which text and data mining are permitted will just allow tech giants to evade their responsibilities. It would essentially legalise the theft of original creative work.
“News publishers, and indeed all creators of original work, should be guaranteed that they are paid for their work, and the proposed system would be impractical, opaque and fundamentally unfair. We have a perfectly clear, unambiguous and workable system, and all that’s required is for the UK Government to uphold it.
“The is no question that AI represents huge opportunities as well as challenges, but the preservation of trustworthy, independent journalism is vital for keeping the public properly informed, debunking fake news and holding the powerful to account.
“We hope the Scottish Government recognises the potential threat all Scotland’s creative businesses, and brings what influence it can to bear on the UK Government to bring about a re-think.”
Full details of the UK government’s plans can be found here.