BRUSEELS: EU lawmakers on Wednesday demanded artificial intelligence providers pay for their use of copyrighted European content as they called for expanded rules to apply to generative AI.
In a report adopted by the European Parliament's legal affairs committee, lawmakers demanded full transparency about what content is used for generative AI systems and fair remuneration for creators.
They also called for the news media industry to have total control over the use of its content for training AI systems, including the right of refusal.
Their call comes ahead of a review of the EU's copyright rules this summer.
The lawmakers urged the European Commission to make sure the sector gets adequate payment for any use.
EU copyright law should apply to all generative AI systems available in the bloc's market, regardless of where the training happens, they added.
The European Union has comprehensive rules on AI, adopted in 2024, which stipulated that such systems must comply with current copyright law.
There is however uncertainty about how the rules should apply to general purpose AI, systems that have a vast range of functions, parliamentary research found.
Current exceptions on text and data mining "are not clear enough, thus legal limitations and uncertainty remain problematic", the document said, referring to academic research.
"Generative AI must not operate outside the rule of law. If copyrighted works are used to train AI systems, creators are entitled to transparency, legal certainty, and fair compensation," said German EU lawmaker Axel Voss.
"Innovation cannot come at the expense of copyright, both can and must coexist," the MEP pushing the issue through parliament said.
Adopted in committee by a wide majority, the proposal will be put to a vote by the full parliament during its plenary session in March.