UK Government Scraps AI Copyright Opt-Out Proposal

The Government of the United Kingdom abandoned its proposed copyright exception for artificial intelligence training on March 18, 2026. The scrapped policy would have allowed AI developers to scrape copyrighted text, images, and music without prior consent or payment, provided creators did not explicitly opt out. The reversal follows overwhelming rejection from the creative industries, including high-profile artists such as Elton John and Dua Lipa, and a consultation that yielded over 11,000 submissions.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced that the government no longer has a preferred option for reform and will not introduce changes to copyright law until they meet specific economic and citizen objectives. In place of the opt-out system, the government is shifting toward market-led licensing and will launch a summer consultation on digital replicas to protect performers' voices and likenesses from unauthorized use.

Additional measures include the establishment of a working group for independent creatives and a taskforce to develop best practices for labeling AI-generated content to combat disinformation and deepfakes. An interim report on these labeling practices is expected in autumn. While industry bodies like Equity and UK Music welcomed the decision, some representatives urged the government to permanently rule out the proposal to prevent it from being resurrected in the future.