Japan's media industry association issued a statement on Wednesday calling on providers of generative artificial intelligence services to obtain permission from member media organizations to use news content and ensure its accuracy.
The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association, which includes broadcasters, said in a statement that generative AI service providers are expanding their businesses despite the association's repeated requests for permission.
In particular, the association pointed out that AI-assisted online search services known as “Search Augmentation Generation (RAG)” offered by companies such as Google and Microsoft are likely to not only infringe on the copyrights of news organizations but also undermine their credibility.
In the RAG service, AI mines relevant information from online sources and provides written answers to users’ questions.
The association noted that the answers generated are sometimes identical to the original news articles, or are inaccurate due to improper repurposing or processing of the original content, adding that it is also problematic when AI does not correct incorrect answers.
Citing numerous cases of copyright infringement, the Commission stressed that RAG service providers do not meet the legal conditions for “minor use” of copyrighted works that are permitted without the consent of the rights holder and therefore must obtain permission to use protected news content.
They warned that if such “free riding” on content is not regulated, media organizations' content will disappear, causing irreparable damage to the foundations of democracy and national culture, and called on the government to urgently review intellectual property laws.
The news organization also expressed concern about “zero-click searches,” in which many users are satisfied with RAG's service and don't visit the source's website, saying, “It is easy to imagine this causing significant disadvantage to traditional media.”
