Australia’s ABC rejects AI copyright carveout, believes already been scraped

Sydney, October 6 - Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), dismissed claims that it was too difficult for AI companies to negotiate licensing agreements to access its content, suggesting that these firms had likely already scraped its output for model training. When major AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic called for relaxed Australian copyright laws to access domestically produced content, the ABC's head of content and legal operations, Kate Gilchrist, insisted that the existing copyright framework was sufficient to manage AI businesses.

The current copyright system is completely adequate to manage the business of AI, Gilchrist told a parliamentary inquiry into AI. She added that AI can negotiate the necessary licenses with rightsholders. Media reports suggest that the Australian government is considering an opt-out clause for AI companies, effectively granting them access to content unless a rightsholder objects, but Gilchrist argued that this would place the burden on rightsholders, stating, "We cannot scour the internet and ensure that we are opting out on all those sites.

It simply does not work." When asked if the ABC believed AI companies had used its content without payment, Gilchrist stated, "I do not think we have conclusive evidence that we have been scraped, but I expect that there is a likely possibility that we have been." She also clarified that the government-funded, independent broadcaster had no plans to replace newsreaders with AI-produced alternatives, noting that while certain contexts in program making might necessitate AI assistance, there is no intention to recreate their newsreaders.

Representatives from OpenAI and Anthropic are scheduled to appear at the same inquiry later the same day.