Key facts
- Changes to AI copyright law could breach Australia's constitution, experts warn.
- Concerns center on 'acquisition of property on just terms' under Section 51 of the constitution.
- Potential for massive international compensation claims against Australia.
- AI companies have requested weaker copyright laws for training data.
- An 'opt-out' model for content scraping has been suggested by Anthropic.
Concerns are mounting in Australia that proposed changes to copyright law to facilitate AI training could violate the nation's constitution. Legal experts and industry representatives warn that allowing AI companies to scrape copyrighted material without explicit licensing could be deemed an 'acquisition of property' by the government, triggering significant compensation claims from rights holders globally. The attorney general's department has acknowledged these concerns, and constitutional experts suggest the drafting of any legislation will be critical in determining its legality.