Hollywood Reacts to Chinese AI Controversy
It didn’t take long for American companies to respond to Chinese-funded AI ventures.
ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, has recently launched Seadance 2.0. This new platform enables users to generate realistic AI videos simply by providing text prompts.
Almost immediately, users began using the app to recreate scenes ranging from influencer content to Hollywood-style action sequences. However, it wasn’t long before Hollywood began pushing back, with legal teams mobilizing within a day of the app’s launch in response to posts that featured copyrighted material.
Disney was among the first to contact ByteDance, warning it to cease certain practices. The company accused ByteDance of offering products that included “a pirated library of Disney copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other franchises,” treating Disney’s intellectual property as if it were freely available for public use.
Disney attorney David Singer stated that ByteDance had been “hijacking Disney characters by copying, distributing, and creating derivative works.”
The legal team claimed, “ByteDance’s de facto usurpation of Disney’s intellectual property is intentional, pervasive, and completely unacceptable.”
In response, ByteDance promised to take measures to prevent unauthorized content use.
They reportedly informed stakeholders that they “respect intellectual property rights” and are actively addressing concerns related to Seadance 2.0. A spokesperson reiterated, “We are taking steps to strengthen our current safeguards to prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property and likeness by our users.”
Since then, significant organizations, including the Motion Picture Association, have rallied behind Disney. The MPA represents various major studios including Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros.
Charles Rivkin, MPA Chairman, stated that in just one day, Seadance 2.0 had committed “massive misappropriation of U.S. copyrighted material.” He added that this violation stands to impact “millions of American jobs” by blatantly disregarding established copyright laws.
The Human Artistry Campaign, which includes organizations such as SAG-AFTRA and the Directors Guild of America, echoed these sentiments. They asserted that SeaDance 2.0 threatens creators globally.
“Taking the work of human creators to replace it with AI-generated content is harmful to our culture. Theft is not innovation,” the group remarked.
Interestingly, despite the backlash, Seadance 2.0 quickly gained popularity among users looking to recreate high-quality fight scenes featuring beloved comic book characters like Superman and the Incredible Hulk. Other scenes have included lighthearted battles featuring characters from animated series like Dragon Ball Z, as well as rooftop encounters imagined between celebrities like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
