Latest news with #Data(UseandAccess)Bill
Rhyl Journal
07-07-2025
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Media faces existential threat from ‘thieving' AI, ministers warned
Urgent reform was demanded in Parliament, as ministers were also tackled over Whitehall striking an agreement with a Canadian tech giant that faces legal action by media firms over accusations of large-scale copyright infringement. The call for swift action follows a bitter stand-off in the House of Lords over attempts to prevent the creative industries, including news outlets, being ripped off by machine-learning developers. The controversy centred on fears of AI companies using copyrighted work without permission, with the Government accused of 'supporting thieves'. Responding to a question on the issue in the upper chamber, media minister Baroness Twycross said: 'Trustworthy journalism plays a vital role in our democracy. 'Rapid recent developments in generative AI pose both significant risks and opportunities for news media. 'We are engaging with press stakeholders on this.' She added: 'The Government will support our news media to capitalise on the huge potential benefits of the technology while mitigating its risk.' But deputy chairman of the Telegraph Group, and Conservative peer, Lord Black of Brentwood said: 'AI poses an existential threat to independent media because of the way it scrapes their high quality content without either attribution or payment to those who create it, which is an act of theft, directly threatening the provision of quality news and the jobs of thousands of reporters. 'Is the minister aware that research by market leader, Cloudflare, shows that, for example, for every 73,000 pages of content scraped by Anthropic's AI crawlers from news providers, there's just one single referral back to publishers' websites? 'Does she realise that without this vital traffic, publishers can't sell advertising or subscriptions, and their businesses become unsustainable? 'The free press can't wait years for copyright reform… we were promised immediate action on this issue when the Data Act went through. When will we get some of it?' Responding, Lady Twycross said: 'We want to get this right and for AI to work for everyone. 'All of our work is around protecting rights that already exist for creatives and press and ensuring AI creates new revenue streams for them. 'We are carefully reviewing all the responses to our consultation to ensure any proposals taken forward properly support both AI and creative sectors, including the media.' Filmmaker Baroness Kidron, who has been a leading critic of the Labour administration on the issue, said: 'During the passage of the Data (Use and Access) Bill, the Government asked repeatedly that Parliament trust that they had the interest of UK copyright holders front and centre. 'So can the minister explain why the UK Government has now signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian AI firm Cohere, when Cohere is facing legal action from 13 news media copyright holders, including The Guardian, Forbes and The Atlantic? 'Does she not agree with me that the Government might better earn Parliament's trust if, instead of rewarding AI companies which infringe copyright with opportunities, that it limited those opportunities and indeed future Government contracts to companies that lawfully license inputs?' Lady Twycross said: 'As I said, we do want to and need to make sure we get this right for everyone. I'm happy to have a conversation with her about the issue she raises.'
North Wales Chronicle
07-07-2025
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Media faces existential threat from ‘thieving' AI, ministers warned
Urgent reform was demanded in Parliament, as ministers were also tackled over Whitehall striking an agreement with a Canadian tech giant that faces legal action by media firms over accusations of large-scale copyright infringement. The call for swift action follows a bitter stand-off in the House of Lords over attempts to prevent the creative industries, including news outlets, being ripped off by machine-learning developers. The controversy centred on fears of AI companies using copyrighted work without permission, with the Government accused of 'supporting thieves'. Responding to a question on the issue in the upper chamber, media minister Baroness Twycross said: 'Trustworthy journalism plays a vital role in our democracy. 'Rapid recent developments in generative AI pose both significant risks and opportunities for news media. 'We are engaging with press stakeholders on this.' She added: 'The Government will support our news media to capitalise on the huge potential benefits of the technology while mitigating its risk.' But deputy chairman of the Telegraph Group, and Conservative peer, Lord Black of Brentwood said: 'AI poses an existential threat to independent media because of the way it scrapes their high quality content without either attribution or payment to those who create it, which is an act of theft, directly threatening the provision of quality news and the jobs of thousands of reporters. 'Is the minister aware that research by market leader, Cloudflare, shows that, for example, for every 73,000 pages of content scraped by Anthropic's AI crawlers from news providers, there's just one single referral back to publishers' websites? 'Does she realise that without this vital traffic, publishers can't sell advertising or subscriptions, and their businesses become unsustainable? 'The free press can't wait years for copyright reform… we were promised immediate action on this issue when the Data Act went through. When will we get some of it?' Responding, Lady Twycross said: 'We want to get this right and for AI to work for everyone. 'All of our work is around protecting rights that already exist for creatives and press and ensuring AI creates new revenue streams for them. 'We are carefully reviewing all the responses to our consultation to ensure any proposals taken forward properly support both AI and creative sectors, including the media.' Filmmaker Baroness Kidron, who has been a leading critic of the Labour administration on the issue, said: 'During the passage of the Data (Use and Access) Bill, the Government asked repeatedly that Parliament trust that they had the interest of UK copyright holders front and centre. 'So can the minister explain why the UK Government has now signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian AI firm Cohere, when Cohere is facing legal action from 13 news media copyright holders, including The Guardian, Forbes and The Atlantic? 'Does she not agree with me that the Government might better earn Parliament's trust if, instead of rewarding AI companies which infringe copyright with opportunities, that it limited those opportunities and indeed future Government contracts to companies that lawfully license inputs?' Lady Twycross said: 'As I said, we do want to and need to make sure we get this right for everyone. I'm happy to have a conversation with her about the issue she raises.'
The Herald Scotland
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Media faces existential threat from ‘thieving' AI, ministers warned
The call for swift action follows a bitter stand-off in the House of Lords over attempts to prevent the creative industries, including news outlets, being ripped off by machine-learning developers. The controversy centred on fears of AI companies using copyrighted work without permission, with the Government accused of 'supporting thieves'. Responding to a question on the issue in the upper chamber, media minister Baroness Twycross said: 'Trustworthy journalism plays a vital role in our democracy. 'Rapid recent developments in generative AI pose both significant risks and opportunities for news media. 'We are engaging with press stakeholders on this.' She added: 'The Government will support our news media to capitalise on the huge potential benefits of the technology while mitigating its risk.' But deputy chairman of the Telegraph Group, and Conservative peer, Lord Black of Brentwood said: 'AI poses an existential threat to independent media because of the way it scrapes their high quality content without either attribution or payment to those who create it, which is an act of theft, directly threatening the provision of quality news and the jobs of thousands of reporters. 'Is the minister aware that research by market leader, Cloudflare, shows that, for example, for every 73,000 pages of content scraped by Anthropic's AI crawlers from news providers, there's just one single referral back to publishers' websites? 'Does she realise that without this vital traffic, publishers can't sell advertising or subscriptions, and their businesses become unsustainable? 'The free press can't wait years for copyright reform… we were promised immediate action on this issue when the Data Act went through. When will we get some of it?' Responding, Lady Twycross said: 'We want to get this right and for AI to work for everyone. 'All of our work is around protecting rights that already exist for creatives and press and ensuring AI creates new revenue streams for them. 'We are carefully reviewing all the responses to our consultation to ensure any proposals taken forward properly support both AI and creative sectors, including the media.' Filmmaker Baroness Kidron, who has been a leading critic of the Labour administration on the issue, said: 'During the passage of the Data (Use and Access) Bill, the Government asked repeatedly that Parliament trust that they had the interest of UK copyright holders front and centre. 'So can the minister explain why the UK Government has now signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian AI firm Cohere, when Cohere is facing legal action from 13 news media copyright holders, including The Guardian, Forbes and The Atlantic? 'Does she not agree with me that the Government might better earn Parliament's trust if, instead of rewarding AI companies which infringe copyright with opportunities, that it limited those opportunities and indeed future Government contracts to companies that lawfully license inputs?' Lady Twycross said: 'As I said, we do want to and need to make sure we get this right for everyone. I'm happy to have a conversation with her about the issue she raises.'
Western Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Media faces existential threat from ‘thieving' AI, ministers warned
Urgent reform was demanded in Parliament, as ministers were also tackled over Whitehall striking an agreement with a Canadian tech giant that faces legal action by media firms over accusations of large-scale copyright infringement. The call for swift action follows a bitter stand-off in the House of Lords over attempts to prevent the creative industries, including news outlets, being ripped off by machine-learning developers. The controversy centred on fears of AI companies using copyrighted work without permission, with the Government accused of 'supporting thieves'. Responding to a question on the issue in the upper chamber, media minister Baroness Twycross said: 'Trustworthy journalism plays a vital role in our democracy. 'Rapid recent developments in generative AI pose both significant risks and opportunities for news media. 'We are engaging with press stakeholders on this.' She added: 'The Government will support our news media to capitalise on the huge potential benefits of the technology while mitigating its risk.' But deputy chairman of the Telegraph Group, and Conservative peer, Lord Black of Brentwood said: 'AI poses an existential threat to independent media because of the way it scrapes their high quality content without either attribution or payment to those who create it, which is an act of theft, directly threatening the provision of quality news and the jobs of thousands of reporters. 'Is the minister aware that research by market leader, Cloudflare, shows that, for example, for every 73,000 pages of content scraped by Anthropic's AI crawlers from news providers, there's just one single referral back to publishers' websites? 'Does she realise that without this vital traffic, publishers can't sell advertising or subscriptions, and their businesses become unsustainable? 'The free press can't wait years for copyright reform… we were promised immediate action on this issue when the Data Act went through. When will we get some of it?' Responding, Lady Twycross said: 'We want to get this right and for AI to work for everyone. 'All of our work is around protecting rights that already exist for creatives and press and ensuring AI creates new revenue streams for them. 'We are carefully reviewing all the responses to our consultation to ensure any proposals taken forward properly support both AI and creative sectors, including the media.' Filmmaker Baroness Kidron, who has been a leading critic of the Labour administration on the issue, said: 'During the passage of the Data (Use and Access) Bill, the Government asked repeatedly that Parliament trust that they had the interest of UK copyright holders front and centre. 'So can the minister explain why the UK Government has now signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian AI firm Cohere, when Cohere is facing legal action from 13 news media copyright holders, including The Guardian, Forbes and The Atlantic? 'Does she not agree with me that the Government might better earn Parliament's trust if, instead of rewarding AI companies which infringe copyright with opportunities, that it limited those opportunities and indeed future Government contracts to companies that lawfully license inputs?' Lady Twycross said: 'As I said, we do want to and need to make sure we get this right for everyone. I'm happy to have a conversation with her about the issue she raises.'
Coin Geek
18-06-2025
- Business
- Coin Geek
UK passes updated data bill, without AI copyright provisions
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... After intensive debates, the United Kingdom parliament has finally passed the 'Data (Use and Access) Bill' (DUA Act), intended to simplify the use of and access to personal data for U.K. data regulators whilst easing the administrative burden of using personal data. The DUA Act builds on the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)—the landmark European Union regulation on information privacy and data use—to modernize the U.K.'s data regime and facilitate more streamlined compliance processes without eroding the protections of the GDPR legislation. On June 11, the bill passed from the House of Lords to the Royal Assent stage—the final stage of the legislative process in the U.K., in which the King essentially rubber stamps bills that Parliament has approved. When it does get its Royal approval—at a date to be decided soon—the DUA Act will become law and herald in the most significant change to the U.K.'s data protection framework since GDPR. Key updates in the bill include expanding the scope for data processing under 'Legitimate Interests,' such as for direct marketing and security processing, reducing interruptive and ineffective cookie consent banners, and provisions to boost market research, product development, and technological innovation. The structure and remit of the U.K.'s information rights regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), will also be 'modernized,' requiring it to consider the public interest in promoting innovation and competition alongside privacy and data protection. Another change involves streamlining the process of submitting a 'Data Subject Access Request' to make it more efficient for individuals and organizations to request information on how a company uses or stores its data. However, one key change the bill doesn't include is a much-debated amendment to force big tech firms and artificial intelligence (AI) companies to get permission and/or pay for U.K. content, as the government insisted that it was planning to address this topic in future AI and copyright legislation—after the conclusion of a consultation on the topic in February. The DPO Centre, a leading U.K. data protection officer and resource center, described the DUA Act as 'a targeted evolution of the current regime' rather than a complete departure from existing frameworks. The rocky road to Royal Assent The DUA Act's passage to Royal Assent was a long, bumpy road that started under the previous Conservative government with the Data Protection and Digital Access (DPDI) Bill, first introduced in 2022. The DPDI set out a range of provisions for how data can be accessed, used, and processed, including making it easier and clearer for organizations to use and re-use data for research purposes; clarifying the processes and safeguards for the re-use of personal data; and easing compliance burdens on organizations related to record keeping, breach reporting and responding to unreasonable information requests from individuals. However, the DPDI failed to pass before the 2024 general election, and in October 2024, the new Labour government introduced the revised DUA Act. The Labour bill retained much of the original content while removing some of the more controversial provisions of the DPDI, including one that would have allowed government oversight of the ICO's strategic priorities and another that required telecom providers to report suspected illegal marketing to the ICO. On May 12, the House of Lords—the Upper chamber of U.K. Parliament—voted by a 147 majority to amend the DUA Act, adding transparency requirements to ensure U.K. copyright holders have to give permission for their work to be used. The amendment would have forced tech companies to declare their use of copyright material when training AI tools so that they could not access U.K. content without paying for it—a proposal backed by prominent U.K. recording artists such as Elton John and Dua Lipa. However, a couple of days later, the House of Common—the lower (and elected) chamber of Parliament primarily responsible for producing legislation—rejected this change, with the government reasoning that it was already carrying out a separate consultation on AI and copyright and wanted to wait on the outcome. In an interview with BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg, Elton John described the Commons' rejection of the amendment as 'criminal,' adding that if ministers went ahead with plans to allow AI firms to use artists' content without paying, they would be 'committing theft, thievery on a high scale.' The Commons' decision also resulted in an extended back and forth, known as a 'ping-pong,' between the two houses of Parliament, as amendments were debated, changed, and rejected, with the legislation bouncing from one chamber to another in the process. Ultimately, a compromise was struck, with the Commons rejecting the Lords' amendment on AI, but the government agreed to publish reports on its AI and copyright proposals within nine months of Royal Assent. Ben Seretny, Head of DPOs at The DPO Centre, says, 'The final version of the DUA Bill feels more like a careful update than a radical overhaul of the UK GDPR and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) frameworks.' Commenting on June 12 on the bill's passage from Parliament, Seretny warned that 'while some areas are now clearer, others may introduce uncertainty.' In particular, he noted that the DUA Act gives the Secretary of State more power to decide which countries have data protection standards that are not 'materially lower' than the U.K.—a shift in language that he suggested may concern the European Commission, which is due to review the U.K.'s data adequacy status in December. In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek's coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI . Watch: Blockchain & AI unlock possibilities title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
