Labor accused of throwing creatives ‘under the bus’ with proposal to ease copyright protections for AI giants
News Source
•Tue, 15 Sep 2026 21:29:11 GMT
📰 What Happened
Independent senator David Pocock says Labor's copyright compromise would throw Australian creatives ‘under the bus’. He spoke after documents on the plan were tabled in the Senate on Tuesday.
The documents are titled ‘AI on Australian Terms’. One option would let AI firms train on any unprotected content if they made enough deals with businesses.
Another option would let companies sign deals with rights holder groups. That deal would cover every small creator in that category, even those who are not members.
🔍 The Backstory
The news broke as senior OpenAI staff met Labor ministers in Australia. The company said copyright laws stopped it training models here. Its global policy chief called the rules a ‘gating problem’.
Musicians, writers and artists lobbied against weaker copyright laws this year. Reports said AI companies offered $50bn in datacentre investment in exchange for changes.
Industry minister Tim Ayres said the new AI rules would ‘in no way’ reduce copyright protection. Assistant technology minister Andrew Charlton said Australia should not trade artists away, and if a datacentre is lost over it, ‘so be it’.
🎯 Why It Matters
Australian writers, musicians and artists earn a living from owning their work. A rule change could hand AI companies free access and cut that income.
Independent senator David Pocock says Labor's copyright compromise would throw Australian creatives ‘under the bus’. He spoke after documents on the plan were tabled in the Senate on Tuesday.
The documents are titled ‘AI on Australian Terms’. One option would let AI firms train on any unprotected content if they made enough deals with businesses.
Another option would let companies sign deals with rights holder groups. That deal would cover every small creator in that category, even those who are not members.
The news broke as senior OpenAI staff met Labor ministers in Australia. The company said copyright laws stopped it training models here. Its global policy chief called the rules a ‘gating problem’.
Musicians, writers and artists lobbied against weaker copyright laws this year. Reports said AI companies offered $50bn in datacentre investment in exchange for changes.
Industry minister Tim Ayres said the new AI rules would ‘in no way’ reduce copyright protection. Assistant technology minister Andrew Charlton said Australia should not trade artists away, and if a datacentre is lost over it, ‘so be it’.
Australian writers, musicians and artists earn a living from owning their work. A rule change could hand AI companies free access and cut that income.