Australian creatives are fighting to protect copyright laws as tech giants push for an exemption in exchange for datacentre investment. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Author Anna Funder appeared before journalists at Parliament House, presenting herself as a "victim of crime." The Stasiland author described how technology companies have "hoovered up" her literary works for profit. Funder emphasized the importance of copyright laws.
Last year, the federal government ruled out granting a legal exemption for AI companies to mine content for training large language models (LLMs). But continued lobbying from tech giants and a tip-off to independent senator David Pocock have sparked fears the Albanese government might backtrack.
Labor is split on how to respond to AI. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to deliver a major speech on Wednesday about plans for regulating and capitalizing on AI. The government abandoned former industry minister Ed Husic's vision for a dedicated AI act in favor of a hands-off approach, but is now reportedly pivoting back to a more interventionist strategy.
Senior Labor sources say ministers are divided on copyright reform. Industry Minister Tim Ayres and Assistant Minister for the Digital Economy Andrew Charlton are keen on attracting AI investment, while Attorney General Michelle Rowland and Arts Minister Tony Burke are determined to protect creatives' rights.
The prime minister last week reassured creatives, citing the news bargaining incentive as evidence of Labor's "strong track record" in protecting local content producers.
The government insists it has no plans to grant a "text and data mining" exemption. However, Tech Council of Australia chair and Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar appealed for such an exemption last July, claiming it could "unlock billions of dollars in foreign investment."
The Productivity Commission floated the idea in a report weeks later, provoking backlash from the creative sector. In October, Rowland killed the proposal. She immediately started fresh consultation on other options, including a paid licensing model for AI.
The government's stated preference is for tech firms to negotiate agreements with creatives to pay for content use. But the timeline for a resolution remains unclear.
In late June, Pocock's office was tipped off about a proposal for a copyright exemption in exchange for at least $50bn in datacentre investment and a fund for creatives worth $350m per year. Pocock called it the "ultimate dirty deal" and demanded Labor rule it out.
The federal government flatly rejected Pocock's claims, repeating it had no plans to weaken copyright.