Artificial Intelligence: Creative Content

Baroness Kidron Excerpts

Thursday 15th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

My Lords, I think the Government should hold firm, in fact. As noble Lords will be well aware, the principle of financial privilege is used frequently by the Commons, as is its right. It was used frequently by the previous Government and has been used a number of times by this Government. This country fought a civil war over taxes and the primacy of the Commons. It is not for this House to criticise the other place for using financial privilege as a reason to reject an amendment.

[Baroness Kidron (CB)]

My Lords, as we have heard, yesterday in the other place the Government used procedure rather than policy to overturn amendments that could have turbocharged a lucrative market for AI training data, on the premise that the data Bill is not the right vehicle to protect copyright works. What steps are the Government taking right now to enforce the law, which the Minister in the other place was at great pains to explain remains in place until further notice? What timeline has the Minister been given for another Bill that may or may not include the transparency to see what is being stolen? If theft at this scale was happening in pharma, finance, aerospace or the tech sector—which protects its patents so fiercely—would the Government stand by and suggest that the cost of regulation was too great to stop a multi-billion-pound industry from being plundered?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

As the Government have signalled clearly, we recognise that transparency and getting this right is a key element required to improve the situation for creators, but we simply do not believe that this Bill is the right vehicle to put these measures into law. The amendments tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, were well intentioned but have not taken into account the work that needs to be done before we put measures into statute. We want to get this right and for AI to work for everyone. Our aim is to provide certainty and deliver shared growth for our UK creative and AI sectors through a copyright regime that provides creators with real control and transparency and helps them to license their content while supporting AI developers’ lawful access to high-quality material.