Media organizations urge Australia to reject AI copyright law changes

A coalition of 63 international media organizations, led by the News/Media Alliance, has petitioned Australian politicians to reject proposed amendments to national copyright laws. The proposed changes would permit artificial intelligence companies to utilize copyrighted material to train their models.

Signatories, which include the Polish Publishers Association, represent thousands of global copyright owners, publishers, and creative sector organizations. The group argues that the changes would force rights holders to effectively forfeit their protections unless they choose to opt-out, undermining decades of international legal precedent.

The coalition warns that the legislation would devalue creative investments and hinder the ability of creators to negotiate fair compensation. Furthermore, they caution that because of the borderless nature of the digital ecosystem, these policy changes could set a dangerous global precedent and impact rights holders far beyond Australia's borders.