The European Union has made history by passing the world’s first comprehensive regulation on artificial intelligence, receiving widespread acclaim from the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) and over 200 organisations within Europe’s creative and cultural sectors. The EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, adopted on February 2nd, mandates “general purpose AI companies” to adhere to copyright laws and establish clear policies to enforce this compliance.
FEP heralds new law as a victory for creators and ethical AI development
The FEP has lauded the AI Act as a significant step towards the ethical and human-centric development of AI technologies, emphasising its role in preventing abusive or illegal practices. It said that the legislation is a pioneering move to regulate AI comprehensively, to “ensure the ethical and human-centric development of this technology and prevent abusive or illegal practices law, which also demands transparency about what data is being used in training the models,” an FEP official stated in a press release.
“The AI Act is a vital piece of legislation that will regulate the role of AI in Europe and help set a global standard for how we expect AI systems to operate.”
Federation of European Publishers
Read: Generative AI: European publishing bodies call for transparency
A core aspect of the legislation is its requirement for transparency in the data used for training AI models. The FEP also highlights this provision as crucial for publishers to enforce their rights and verify that their works have not been used unlawfully. “This transparency obligation is essential to allow publishers to enforce their rights and ensure that their works have not been used illegally for the training of an AI,” the FEP noted.
Creative organisations support new legislation
The push for this legislation was significantly supported by more than 200 organisations from Europe’s creative and cultural sectors, who argued that the unchecked growth of AI has often involved the illicit utilisation of copyrighted works. “The rapid deployment of generative AI technologies has disrupted the market with AI-generated content, frequently without proper attribution or compensation to the original creators,” according to the FEP. “It will complement existing copyright obligations that notably allow rights holders to opt-out their works from Text-and-Data mining uses and support the development of a licensing eco-system,” it added.
Ricardo Franco Levi, president of the FEP, expressed optimism about the EU setting a global standard in digital regulation through this act. “In a context where, both in the EU and internationally, the abuses of AI are more and more documented and contested, the EU has once again the opportunity to set a world standard in digital regulation, and allow AI to unleash its potential without infringing the rights of others,” Levi remarked.
The FEP also believes that the AI Act, described as “light touch” legislation, will protect creators and copyright holders, encourage partnerships, and stimulate innovation. The legislation not only serves an ethical purpose but also positions the EU as a leader in AI regulation on the global stage, promoting innovation and value creation within the region.