In response to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s report on AI, copyright and the creative industries, published today (6 March 2026), WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said:
“We welcome this report and the recommendations that have been made to Government, particularly the urge to legislators not to overlook the “economic powerhouse” that is our creative industry in the rush to embrace generative AI systems.
This report highlights the key points that WGGB have repeatedly made over the last few years.
Firstly, that the UK’s copyright system is not outdated and in need of reform, and that the Government should immediately rule out exceptions for commercial text and data mining with an “opt-out” mechanism.
Secondly, that the Government needs to urgently establish a clear transparency framework for AI developers, which must be a statutory obligation.
Thirdly, that any UK licensing marketplace must be sustainable and contain mechanisms to ensure that remuneration reaches individual creators.
In addition to the points made by the Committee, WGGB call on the Government to ensure that any remuneration due to creators through licensing models is fair and equitable, that an independent regulatory body is established to monitor and regulate AI expansion, and that a right to human review is in place wherever AI decision-making is used.
We ask the Government to announce its position on copyright and AI at the earliest opportunity to provide reassurance to our members and the wider creative industry that their rights will be protected.
We will continue our campaigning and lobbying work to ensure that our members’ voices are heard in Governmental discussions on copyright and AI.”