Government ‘considering AI training disclosure laws’
The federal government is reportedly considering legislation that would force AI companies to disclose which copyrighted works have been used in the training of their language models.
The government has not confirmed the report, which appeared in the Australian Financial Review, but if correct it would represent a new front in the struggle between content owners and tech companies.
The contest has been ramping up over the past two weeks, kicked off by Atlassian billionaire Scott Farquhar calling for an overhaul of copyright laws to make it easier for AI companies to train models in Australia.
Scott Farquhar put under the microscope on copyright
Farquhar said Australia was missing out on billions of dollars in AI investment because our laws prevent tech companies from bulk handling copyrighted material. He has since received a grilling on the issue on the ABC’s 7:30 Report.
Farquhar’s call was seen as a move to weaken the rights of content owners, and was met with derision and outrage from publishers and other interested parties.
That reaction was inflamed by the publication of a Productivity Commission interim report last week. Among its pages were three potential reforms to copyright: licensing payments, more effective enforcement, and a fair dealing carve out for text and data handling (TDM).
The government has held off making an unequivocal call on the issue of a TDM carve out, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers saying last week “we don’t have any plans to change or weaken those copyright arrangements.”
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland – who has responsibility for copyright matters – is reportedly considering the requirement for tech companies to disclose the material used to train LLMs. There is also talk of a revamped copyright regime for smaller copyright owners.
Rowland, who was previously Communications Minister overseeing media, has to date carefully worded her statements to avoid ruling out copyright reform. She released this statement last week:
“Any potential reform to Australia’s copyright laws must consider the impacts on Australia’s creative, content and news media sectors. I am committed to continuing to engage on these issues, including through the copyright and AI reference group that our government established last year.”
The Copyright Agency, a not-for-profit which distributes royalties to thousands of Australian copyright owners, has called for a legislated compensation scheme for the offshore use of copyrighted works in AI training.
Mumbrella has contacted both the Copyright Agency and the Attorney-General’s offices for comment. See this article for legal context on Australia’s copyright laws.
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