Hollywood warns relaxing copyright laws could harm the U.S. economy, affecting over 2.3 million jobs and $229 billion in wages, and set a dangerous precedent for all industries.
A coalition of more than 400 actors, directors, writers, and other entertainment industry professionals have come together to voice their concerns about the potential loosening of copyright laws to benefit artificial intelligence companies. In an open letter addressed to the U.S. government, the group is urging policymakers to uphold current copyright protections, warning that weakening these laws could have significant negative impacts on the creative industries.
The group, led by actress Natasha Lyonne, includes high-profile names including Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Ava DuVernay, Bette Midler, Paul McCartney, and Cate Blanchett. It specifically responds to recent proposals from tech giants OpenAI and Google, who have both submitted recommendations to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) suggesting that current copyright laws should be relaxed under “fair use” to allow AI training on publicly available and copyrighted material. Google also proposed exceptions like “text and data mining” to avoid lengthy licensing processes.The concern: AI training on copyrighted work
Hollywood’s concern is rooted in its significant role in the U.
