Ministers block Lords bid to make AI firms declare use of copyrighted content

The government stripped the transparency amendment, which was backed by peers in the bill's reading in the House of Lords last week, out of the draft text by invoking financial privilege, meaning there is no budget available for new regulations, during a Commons debate on Wednesday afternoon. There were 297 MPs who voted in favour of removing the amendment, while 168 opposed. The data protection minister, Chris Bryant, told MPs that although he recognised that for many in the creative industries this "feels like an apocalyptic moment", he did not think the transparency amendment delivered the required solutions, and he argued that changes needed to be completed "in the round and not just piecemeal". Lady Kidron said: "The government failed to answer its own backbenchers who repeatedly asked'if not now then when?' and the minister replied with roundtable reviews and spurious problems about technical solutions. It is for government to set the laws and incentivise companies to obey it not run roundtables trying to work out technical solutions that they are not fit to provide. "It is astonishing that a Labour government would abandon the labour force of an entire sector.