Australian broadcaster rejects AI copyright carveout, citing scraping concerns

Kate Gilchrist, ABC head of content and legal operations, told a parliamentary inquiry into artificial intelligence that the current copyright system is "completely adequate to manage the business of AI." She added that AI companies "can engage in negotiations with rightsholders for the relevant licences that they need."

Media reports indicated the Australian government might consider an "opt out" clause, which would allow AI companies access to content unless a rightsholder actively objects. Gilchrist argued this approach "places the burden on rightsholders," stating, "We cannot scour the internet and ensure that we are opting out on all those sites. It simply does not work."

When questioned about whether the ABC believed its content had been used without payment, Gilchrist said, "I do not think we have conclusive evidence that we have been scraped but I expect that there is a likely possibility that we have been."

Regarding the potential use of AI in news delivery, ABC senior executive for policy and regulatory affairs David Sutton stated the company "had no plan to replace humans." He clarified that while AI might be used in "particular contexts in programme making," there are "fundamentally, no plans to recreate our newsreaders or anything like that."

The Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence is conducting one of several inquiries into AI in Australia. Representatives from OpenAI and Anthropic were scheduled to appear before the same committee.