Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report entitled Detecting Deep Fakes: Artificial Intelligence and Anti-Jewish hate: A Case for regulating Generative AI published by INACH, Decoding Antisemitism, the German Federal Foreign Office, and the Antisemitism Policy Trust.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Antisemitic content can have a chilling effect on Jewish users online. The government is working to ensure that all users feel confident engaging online without fear of harassment or abuse. The Online Safety Act regulates AI-generated content in the same way as ‘real’ content - where it is shared on an in-scope service and is either illegal content or harmful to children. The Act also gives online platforms duties where there are risks of their services being used to carry out certain priority offences – this includes illegal antisemitic content which stirs up hatred.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many times he has met with organisations working to tackle antisemitism since taking office.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers and officials have regular meetings about tackling racism, prejudice and discrimination online. For example, we have engaged a range of stakeholders and held roundtables to understand the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act in tackling antisemitism. Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on exempting Category 1 services from their associated obligations under the Online Safety Act.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to determine which services fall into Category 1. Ofcom’s current roadmap estimates publishing the register of categorised services this summer, with the additional duties for Category 1 services becoming enforceable once the relevant codes of practice are in force.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the differential economic impact of the proposed copyright exceptions for AI training in each creative sector.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government published a summary assessment of options alongside the consultation on copyright and AI.
The Government recognises that this is a complex area and welcomes further evidence on the economic impacts of its proposals on creative sectors as part of the consultation.
The Government’s priority now is to review the evidence from the consultation which will inform its response.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with authors whose work has been used without (a) permission or (b) remuneration to train generative AI models.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has engaged extensively with the creative sector, including through a roundtable meeting held by the Secretary of State in March.
The consultation on copyright and AI, which closed on 25 February, specifically sought views on giving rights holders greater control over uses of their material in AI training and supporting their ability to be remunerated when used.
The Government will continue to engage with the sector, as it carefully analyses the responses received to the consultation.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many responses there were to the consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence which closed on 25 February 2025.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government received 11,587 responses to the consultation on copyright and AI. This total includes online survey responses and email submissions.
A small number of the email submissions received were associated with online survey responses (providing supporting evidence, for example), so the total number of distinct responses will be slightly lower than 11,587.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an estimate of the proportion of large artificial intelligence language models that are trained on datasets containing copyrighted material without licensing agreements.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Copying protected material in the UK will infringe copyright unless it is licensed, or an exception to copyright applies.
The Government recently consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI), including seeking evidence on the use of copyright material in AI model development and transparency on this.
This consultation closed on 25th February.
The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its next steps. The Government will continue to engage extensively on this issue and its proposals will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) artists and (b) creators retain control over the use of their (i) voice, (ii) style and (iii) likeness by generative artificial intelligence.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government published a consultation on 17 December 2024, seeking views on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI). Given the rise of AI-generated ‘digital replicas’, the consultation sought views on whether the UK’s existing legal framework provides individuals with sufficient control over their voice and appearance.
The consultation closed on 25 February 2025. The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation. The Government will set out its position in due course.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps to support fair remuneration for creatives whose works are used in AI datasets.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government published its consultation on Copyright and AI on 17 December 2024. This sought views on giving rights holders of creative works greater control over use of their material to train AI models and supporting their ability to be remunerated where it is used. The consultation closed on 25 February 2025.
The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its approach to copyright and AI. The Government will continue to engage extensively as it considers next steps, and its proposals will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what representations he has received from creative industry stakeholders on the economic impact of generative AI.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government published a consultation on 17 December 2024, seeking views on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI). This included seeking evidence on the economic impact of its proposals.
The consultation closed on 25 February 2025 and the Government received over 11,500 responses. Ministers have also met with representatives of the creative industries and AI sectors to discuss the impact of generative AI.
The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its approach to copyright and AI. The Government will set out its proposals in due course.