Hong Kong delays AI copyright law to focus on guidelines first

Hong Kong officials have decided to postpone a proposed legal amendment aimed at safeguarding copyrighted works from being utilized to train artificial intelligence (AI) models, preferring instead to focus on drafting operational guidelines, according to the South China Morning Post. The Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2025, which originally aimed to introduce an "opt-out" mechanism for text and data mining to support AI technology development, was scheduled to be presented to the Legislative Council in the first half of 2024 but was subsequently removed from the city's legislative agenda last August.

The bill, which was referenced in the city's policy address last year and included in the first five-year plan earlier this month, has been omitted from both. The "opt-out" mechanism drew criticism for potentially imposing significant burdens on copyright holders to seek permission from AI companies to verify if their work had been used for AI-generated content, with critics advocating for an "opt-in" approach instead.

Lawmaker Johnny Ng Kit-chong, chair of Legco's panel on commerce, industry, innovation, and technology, stated that the government postponed the legal amendment and would first draft guidelines on its proposed "opt-out" mechanism, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive operational solution before proceeding. Ng noted that while the opt-out concept was not inherently problematic, clarification on its implementation was required, such as determining whether a media outlet would need to exclude every published article from being used for AI training.

The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau referred the SCMP to remarks made by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah, who confirmed that the government had received diverse views and ideas following a two-month consultation in 2024 and would consider all concerns to propose guidelines for the copyright ordinance.

Ng supported the government's cautious approach and the decision to monitor developments in other jurisdictions, stating that there was no timeline for drafting the guidelines. Lawmaker Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, deputy chairman of the panel, described the legislative pause as a deliberate and prudent measure due to a lack of consensus both locally and internationally on how copyright law should intersect with AI.

He emphasized the creative industries' concerns about potential unauthorized use and lack of compensation for their work, which could undermine the creative ecosystem. Fok advocated for a balanced approach focusing on market-driven cooperation, licensing schemes, non-statutory guidelines, and ongoing benchmarking with global trends.

Sharon Wong Yin-yue, executive director of the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society, indicated that the government would issue guidelines on AI usage for various stakeholders, but the details were not provided. She noted that the industry was discussing safeguarding creative rights amid AI's rapid development, rather than solely focusing on the opt-out mechanism.

Joshua Chu, a lawyer and co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, suggested that the government needed to catch up with the rapid evolution of AI, especially considering recent incidents of autonomous AI systems causing cyberattacks without human intervention. He called for clarification on legal liability for AI agents if they infringed on others' copyrights without human instruction.

Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, cautioned that resolving copyright issues related to AI would involve multiple jurisdictions and be challenging to trace the original copyright owner after content processing by the technology. Fong suggested that copyright owners explore encrypted watermarks readable by AI to protect their content, and the government should balance AI development with copyright protection.