Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to protect the copyright of artists and creatives whose work has been scraped by tech companies; and what plans they have to license such content.
Answer
We want creators to have greater control over how their work is used. The Report and Impact Assessment on AI and copyright, published on 18 March, sets out a programme of work to advance our objectives of creator control, access and transparency. The Government will set out its final policy position once this work concludes. Our work includes supporting licensing through initiatives such as the Creative Content Exchange pilot, launched in January 2026 with twelve cultural institutions, which enables rights holders to license digitised works to AI developers while retaining control. We have also established a working group of independent creators and smaller creative organisations to explore whether and how the Government can support their ability to license content.12% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (50/100)
The reply points to a concrete licensing mechanism for rights holders, the Creative Content Exchange pilot, and to a working group on how the Government can support independent creators to license their work. That directly answers the second part of the question, although the pilot focuses mainly on cultural institutions. On the first part, about protecting creators' work from scraping, the reply only refers to a forthcoming policy position and to general aims such as 'greater control', without naming any specific protection. The person who asked would probably need to follow up on that first part.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What plans the Government has to protect the copyright of artists and creatives whose work has been scraped by technology companies | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply points to the AI and copyright report, a programme of work on creator control, and a forthcoming final policy position, but never names a concrete protection measure against scraping. The only substantive content is a deferred policy position and a vague aspiration ('greater control'), so the item is only gestured at. |
| What plans the Government has to license content that has been scraped by technology companies from artists and creatives | Addressed | Direct | The reply names a concrete licensing mechanism, the Creative Content Exchange pilot (launched January 2026 with twelve institutions), which lets rights holders license digitised works to AI developers while retaining control. It also describes a working group exploring how the Government can support independent creators' ability to license content, which directly matches the item. The pilot centres on cultural institutions rather than individual artists, but the working group covers the creator side. |