Written questions by Frith.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to keep industry stakeholders informed of the progress of the working groups on (a) transparency, (b) licensing and (c) other technical standards.

The Government has established expert stakeholder working groups to inform the development of policy on copyright and AI.The Government convened the first meeting of these stakeholder working groups on 16th July. Information relating to this group will be published on GOV.UK, which will include further details and a list of working group members.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is planning to take to keep Parliament informed of the progress of the expert working groups on (a) transparency, (b) licensing and (c) other technical standards.

The Government has committed to establishing expert stakeholder working groups to inform the development of policy on copyright and AI.The Secretaries of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport convened the first meeting of these stakeholder working groups on 16th July. Information relating to this group will be published on GOV.UK, which will include further details and a list of working group members.The Government has also committed to set up a Parliamentary working group for members to engage with and feed views into this process.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to issue guidance to help social media companies implement (a) C2PA Content Credentials and (b) other provenance standards to help (i) tackle disinformation and (ii) ensure a viable opt-out tool for rightsholders in the UK, in the context of the Ofcom's responsibilities in the Online Safety Act 2023.

The Online Safety Act (OSA) represents our key legislative tool for tackling mis/disinformation and requires platforms to remove illegal mis/disinformation from their services. Our immediate focus is on quick and effective implementation. We will then look at where we could build on the OSA.The government recently closed a consultation on AI and copyright and welcomed engagement from stakeholders on issues including labelling AI-generated and modified content, and options for enhancing control for rightsholders in the context of the UK’s AI and copyright regime. We are reviewing all responses to ensure any proposals taken forward properly support all sectors.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to take steps to prevent social media companies from removing (a) C2PA Content Credentials and (b) other provenance metadata from content in order to help (i) tackle disinformation online and (ii) ensure that rightsholders’ stated preferences for AI training are not removed.

The Online Safety Act (OSA) represents our key legislative tool for tackling mis/disinformation and requires platforms to remove illegal mis/disinformation from their services. Our immediate focus is on quick and effective implementation. We will then look at where we could build on the OSA.The government recently closed a consultation on AI and copyright and welcomed engagement from stakeholders on issues including labelling AI-generated and modified content, and options for enhancing control for rightsholders in the context of the UK’s AI and copyright regime. We are reviewing all responses to ensure any proposals taken forward properly support all sectors.

Innovation and Technology, if he will make it his policy that a copyright exception for text and data mining will not be brought into law until a rights reservation mechanism has been proven to work to the satisfaction of copyright holders.

The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024.This consultation seeks views on proposals to introduce a text and data mining exception alongside a rights reservation mechanism and transparency measures. The Government has been clear in oral answers, in both houses, that it will not introduce these measures until it has a workable system in place.The proposals in this consultation are presented for feedback and discussion, and no decision has yet been taken on the final policy.The consultation closes on 25 February.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure that a rights reservation mechanism has been (a) trialled and (b) proven before a copyright exception for text and data mining is brought into law.

The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024.This consultation seeks views on proposals to introduce a text and data mining exception alongside a rights reservation mechanism and transparency measures. The Government has been clear in oral answers, in both houses, that it will not introduce these measures until it has a workable system in place.The Government recognises the vital importance of right holder feedback on a rights reservation mechanism, and how it will work in practice, and will take this feedback into account as it develops its approach.The consultation closes on 25 February.

Innovation and Technology, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend copyright legislation in relation to text and data mining.

The Government will launch a consultation soon on a number of issues relating to copyright and AI, including text and data mining.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the potential impact of international text and data exceptions on (a) development of AI products and (b) creative industries.

We are engaging with international partners to better understand their approaches to copyright and AI issues.The Government will launch a consultation soon on a package of measures to address copyright and AI issues, and welcomes views and evidence of impacts, including international approaches.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to his Department's Green Paper entitled Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, published in October 2024, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the UK's copyright regime for text and data mining on the (a) Industrial Strategy and (b) eight growth-driving sectors.

The Government believes in both human-centred creativity and the potential of text and data mining and AI to open up new creative frontiers.This is requires a balanced solution – one that supports all the sectors listed in the Invest 2035 industrial strategy, including the creative industries and the digital and technologies sector.The Government will launch a consultation soon on a package of measures to address copyright and AI issues and support growth.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential value to the economy of licensing agreements between AI developers and the UK's creative industries for copyright protected works.

The Government recognises that licensing is an important tool to ensure rights holders are remunerated appropriately. We have made no specific estimate at this stage of the potential economic value of licensing agreements between AI developers and rights holders.The Government will launch a consultation soon to seek views and welcome evidence on a package of measures to address copyright and AI issues, including the value of licensing.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the copyright regime for text and data mining on the (a) AI sector, (b) creative industries and (c) wider economy.

Greater certainty over copyright and AI would support growth in both the creative and AI sectors.The Government will launch a consultation soon on a package of measures to address copyright and AI issues. This will seek views and evidence of potential impacts on the AI sector, the creative industries, and the wider economy.