Overview

• Kirsty Innes, a special adviser to Technology Secretary Liz Kendall, wrote on X that AI companies “in practice will never legally have to” compensate artists, writers and musicians for training data.
• The posts, made earlier this year and since deleted, were reported this week and have drawn criticism from commentators and creative industry advocates.
• The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is consulting on scraping and compensation, with ministers also forming working groups to weigh options beyond a simple opt-out model.
• Labour’s opt-out approach has faced pushback from creators who argue it shifts the burden onto individuals, even as the government signals it is not the preferred final outcome.
• Major publishers including The Guardian and the Financial Times have signed licensing deals with OpenAI, highlighting a route larger organisations are taking while statutory policy remains unsettled.