Copyright and AI consultation closes as newspapers campaign
The UK consultation on copyright and AI closed on 25 February 2025, the day most national newspapers ran the Make It Fair campaign on their front pages.
The UK government's consultation on copyright and artificial intelligence closed on 25 February 2025. It had opened on 17 December 2024 and proposed, among other options, a text and data mining exception that would let AI developers train on lawfully accessed works unless right holders had reserved their rights.
On the closing day the News Media Association launched the Make It Fair campaign, backed by a coalition from the creative industries. Most UK national daily newspapers gave their front pages or wraps to the campaign, which argued against the proposed exception and for copyright to apply fully to AI developers. Separately, more than 1,000 musicians released a silent album in protest at the plans.
The government said it would use the responses to shape its approach. Its report of March 2026 put the number of responses at 11,520.
Why it matters: the level of opposition from the creative sector, including publishers and authors' organisations, made clear that an opt-out model would be contested. For small publishers and authors the practical question remains how any rights reservation would work and whether licensing income would follow. No change to the law has been made.
Sources: GOV.UK: Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence (response numbers); Press Gazette: News titles unite in opposition to AI copyright plans.