It’s been a busy week representing you in government this week.
Last Friday, the House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee published its report on AI, copyright and the creative industries. Citing evidence from Directors UK, the report calls for transparency around AI to become a statutory requirement, and for creators to be fairly compensated by AI companies that benefit from their work.
The committee’s recommendations included our proposal that “the Government must ensure that there are appropriate mechanisms in place to enable value to reach individual creators and rightsholders. This could include exploring the introduction of an unwaivable right to equitable remuneration for AI uses of their works”. Read the full report.
On Monday, we were in Parliament for the inaugural meeting to establish the All Party Parliamentary Group for Freelancers, Chaired by Polly Billington MP. We’re part of the joint secretariat of the group, alongside Bectu, ALCS, and DACS. At the meeting the group identified areas to focus on including improving government understanding of how freelance work is structured, and examining policy around financial support and employment protections. Read more about the group here.
This week we also submitted our response to the DCMS consultation, on the renewal of the BBC’s Royal Charter. This is an important moment of change for the BBC, and directors are central to its future. In our submission, we highlighted the importance of an independent, sustainably funded BBC, its role in improving workplace standards and EDI, the need for a broad mix of programming tied to production based across the UK, representation for freelancers at Board level, and much more. Thank you to members who also submitted their own responses. Read about our response to the consultation here.