Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to assess the potential implications for the Government's policies of the unlawful use of copyrighted (a) images, (b) books, (c) films and (d) music by AI firms.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the UK, licences are required from copyright owners when protected works (such as images, books, films, music) are used in AI training, unless an exception to copyright applies.
The law in this area is complex and disputed.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport jointly published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024, seeking views which will help the Government develop an approach which can provide greater legal certainty in this space.
The consultation closes on 25 February.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 help protect (a) visual artists and (b) other creators from copyright infringement by AI developers.
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 published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024.
This consultation seeks views on a package of measures, which include a requirement for AI model developers to be more transparent about how they obtain their training material, to enable copyright to be more easily enforced.
The proposals would also enable right holders to reserve their rights, so they can prevent the use of their content to train AI models in the UK.
The consultation closes on 25 February.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of copyright law for ensuring visual artists are remunerated for the use of their work in training AI models.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
At present, copyright law regarding AI training is disputed. This makes it difficult for creators, such as visual artists, to control whether their works can be used to train AI models, and to seek payment for this.
The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024.
This consultation seeks views on how to create clarity in this area. This includes seeking views on proposals which would enable right holders to reserve their rights, so they can prevent, or license, the use of their content to train AI models in the UK.
The consultation closes on 25 February.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the potential impact of the use of AI models on (a) visual artists and (b) the wider creative sector.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024.
It sets out potential legislative changes to copyright law to support the development and use of AI technology, while continuing to reward human creators. It also seeks views on digital replicas and other related emerging issues.
The Government has published an assessment of options alongside the consultation. Further information and evidence on the economic impact of the use of AI models on visual artists and the wider creative sector is welcomed as part of the consultation, to help shape Government’s thinking.
The consultation closes on 25 February.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing an opt-out for AI firms using copyright works on (a) visual artists and (b) other creators.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024.
This consultation seeks views on a number of issues relating to copyright and AI, including on how to give rights holders of creative works greater control over use of their material.
The Government has published an assessment of options alongside the consultation. Further information and evidence on the impact of a rights-reservation (or “opt-out”), including the impact on visual artists and other creators is welcomed as part of the consultation, to help shape Government’s thinking.
The consultation closes on 25 February.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking against individual service users whose online deceptions cause (a) non-trivial emotional and psychological damage, and (b) fall within the scope of coercive control.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Individuals can be prosecuted if they commit offences online or offline. The Online Safety Act forces online platforms and search services to reduce the risk of illegal content being encountered on their services. Platforms must focus on ‘priority offences’, including content which amounts to controlling and coercive behaviour and must reduce the risk of priority offences being committed on their service. We know such offences disproportionately impact women and girls. This government has set an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We will explore further measures as needed.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Online Safety Act 2023 in tackling instances of (a) online deception and (b) coercive and controlling behaviour by impersonations on (i) social media and (ii) dating apps.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act requires all in-scope services to protect users from online illegal content and criminal behaviour on their services. Coercive and controlling behaviour is a priority offence under the Act. Adult users of services over the designated threshold will also have the ability to verify their own identity, reduce the likelihood of seeing non-verified users’ content, and prevent non-verified users from interacting with their content. The government and Ofcom’s priority is getting these protections implemented effectively.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the support for victims of intellectual property theft provided by Action Fraud.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2023 the Government published a Fraud Strategy, setting out plans to reduce fraud by 10% by December 2024.
Action Fraud is the UK’s national information and reporting centre for fraud and financially motivated internet crime, including intellectual property theft. As part of the national fraud strategy, the government is committed to replacing Action Fraud with a new state-of-the-art reporting service, making it easier for victims to report crime, and for law enforcement to take action on victims’ reports.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with representatives of Ofcom on price increases for (a) mobile and (b) internet contracts in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We recognise that this is a difficult time for families across the country who are struggling to pay their bills as a result of the global rise in the cost of living.
My Department has engaged regularly with Ofcom over the past 12 months on a range of telecom consumer-related issues including the affordability of services.
Ofcom - the independent regulator - has a statutory duty to monitor ongoing household affordability in the sector, and Part C of their General Conditions require telecoms companies to provide clear information about their contracts.
On 9 February 2023, Ofcom announced a review into the transparency of in-contract price rises. Ofcom expects this review to conclude by the end of the year.