Meta: AI Development

Viscount Camrose Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)]

We recognise the importance of ensuring that publishers and smaller creators can control and benefit from the use of their content, and we further understand that news publishers rely on traffic, advertising and subscription to support their work. Concerns of the sort that the noble Baroness mentions have been raised about the effects of AI systems accessing and using their content, which is why in March we committed to establish a working group to consider how the Government could support independent and smaller creative organisations in licensing their work, including in journalism. This sits alongside our review of creator control and input transparency.

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

My Lords, perhaps we cannot really blame Meta for exploring the limits of the policy vacuum created by the Government’s continued inaction on AI and copyright. With that in mind, could the Minister tell us what progress has been made on the Government’s review of creator control and transparency, in particular the technical standards that could enable rights holders, particularly journalists, to protect their own work?

[Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)]

The noble Viscount will not be surprised to hear that I disagree with his description of the Government’s strategy, work and progress on this issue. It is very clear that DCMS is in charge of AI and copyright and works across government, including with BIST on growth and the economy, and very closely with the Cabinet Office, which has the lead on the AI strategy. We are progressing our review of creator control and input transparency at pace, and are engaging extensively with stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of existing mechanisms and whether there is an appropriate role for the Government. We hope to publish our findings in the first part of next year.