U.K. Parliament Rejects Copyright Measure in Data Bill

Many of the amendments approved by the MPs are technical adjustments to the bill. But two major substantive amendments were voted down. One would have added a provision to the law requiring AI companies to comply with British copyright law in developing and training their models. The measure was widely backed by the creative industries concerned over the bill’s provision allowing the use of copyrighted works without permission or payment to train AI models unless a rights owner affirmatively opts-out of allowing their works to be used.

The proposed amendment was originally added to the bill during an earlier round in the House of Lords, but was stripped out by the government in the committee phase in the House of Commons. On Wednesday, Liberal Democrat MP Victoria Collins tried to add them back, but her amendment was voted down 287-88.

Also voted down was an amendment introduced by Tory MP Ben Spencer that would have required public agencies that collect information on members of the public such as the National Health Service and the agency that issues driver’s licenses to provide data on a person’s sex at birth, rather than what is recorded on official Gender Recognition Certificates.

The bill’s changes to copyright law have been controversial since being proposed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government. No. 10 has declared the changes essential to maintaining British technological competitiveness with the European Union, which included a data-mining exception with opt-out standard in the AI Act.

Read more: U.K. Data Bill Still Facing Opposition Ahead of Final Vote

The changes have drawn fierce opposition from the creative industries, however, as well among some members of both houses of Parliament. In a bid two quell opposition, the government added a binding commitment to carry out an economic impact assessment within a year of the bill taking effect and to publish a series of reports based on the assessment covering licensing, data transparency and other issues.

Many of those issues, the government has stressed, are the subject of a separate, ongoing public consultation on AI and copyright, which has received over 11,500 submissions from industry and the public.

Speaking to MPs during Wednesday’s debate Culture Minister Chris Bryant urged members to wait until the process is complete before addressing the copyright issues in legislation.

 “It must surely be better to legislate on this complex subject in the round rather than piecemeal,” Bryant said. “The government must keep an open mind, and must take full account of the economic evidence,” adding that the government has “not prejudged the outcome of the consultation.”

Technology minister Peter Kyle has also indicated the government no longer considers the permission-with-opt-out rule its preferred approach and that “all options” are being considered.

This week’s vote on the copyright amendment in Commons may not be the last word on the matter from Parliament. Baroness Beeban Kidron, who originally sponsored the amendment in the House of Lords, said following Wednesday’s vote that she would attempt to add it back when the bill comes back before the peers on Monday.