Source: Taylor Hampton

The UK is considering major copyright reforms that would allow authors and rightsholders to “opt out” of having their works used to train artificial intelligence systems. This proposed opt-out mechanism would give creators the legal right to exclude their content from being scraped or processed as AI training data without their explicit consent.

The article explains that the move follows increasing concern from writers, publishers, and other content creators over the unauthorized use of their material by AI companies. The current lack of clear rules leaves many creators feeling powerless to protect their intellectual property as generative AI systems expand in scope and capability.

Legal experts and industry stakeholders are closely watching the proposal, which could set an important precedent for other jurisdictions. If implemented, the opt-out scheme would require both regulatory clarity and practical mechanisms to allow rightsholders to enforce their preferences, balancing the interests of AI innovation and content protection.