Chinese tech giant ByteDance, which owns TikTok outside the United States, said it would “strengthen existing safeguards” for its AI video generation tool SeaDance, following threats of lawsuits from Disney and other Hollywood studios over the use of intellectual property in short-form videos that take over social media.
Seedance 2.0 has caused a tremor in the Western world. The latest version of this tool features the world’s biggest movie and TV stars, as well as Marvel, DC, star wars Popular franchises such as
Because the SeaDance video went viral, Hollywood was quick to hit back. On Friday, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, citing intellectual property infringement.
The reaction of Hollywood’s other major institutions was equally swift and fierce. The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents studios, demanded that the tool “immediately cease its infringing activities,” and the actors union SAG-AFTRA accused Seadance of “blatant infringement.” The union added: “This violation includes the unauthorized use of members’ voices and likenesses. This is unacceptable and undermines the ability of human talent to earn a living.”
On Monday, ByteDance told the BBC that the company “respects intellectual property rights and has heard your concerns about SeaDance 2.0.”
The company added that it is “taking steps to strengthen our current safeguards to prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property and likeness by our users,” but it remains unclear what the current safeguards are and how they will be strengthened.
