The SAA have joined a broad coalition of organisations in Europe’s creative and cultural sector that are calling for transparency, consent, and remuneration to be at the heart of AI implementation. The coalition emphasised that AI and creativity can thrive together – if the rules respect the people whose work powers these technologies.

What transpires from recent news about Meta’s use of a pirate website to train its AI model is certainly not good news for authors. Indeed, very disappointed but not surprised, the authors have entered 2025 with a further confirmation that protected works have been and will continue to be used without their authorisation. The news arrives at a crucial and turbulent time for the EU and its authors, for at least two reasons: the battle on interpretation of the text-and-data mining exception and the drafti

Authors’ unwaivable right to remuneration and collective management was first recognised in the early 1990s, with the directive on rental and lending rights and on cable and satellite (see our timeline of key EU directives). 30 years later, all European authors are fairly remunerated for when their works are shown on TV channels, copies are made for personal use on devices or media and films are watched on streaming platforms, right? No, unfortunately not.  

We are writing to you as a broad coalition of creators and rightholders active across the EU’s cultural and creative industries to reiterate our support for the aims of the AI Act and to encourage you to promote and oversee its effective and meaningful implementation.