Hollywood studios and creative organizations are pushing back against ByteDance’s new artificial intelligence video model, saying the tool enables widespread copyright infringement.
The Chinese technology company recently finalized a deal to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations while retaining a stake in the new joint venture, and launched Seedance 2.0 earlier this week. According to wall street journalthe updated model is currently available to users in China through ByteDance’s Jianying app and will be rolled out globally through the CapCut app.
Seedance 2.0 allows users to generate short videos, currently up to 15 seconds in length, by entering text prompts. Like tools such as OpenAI’s Sora, this model has drawn criticism from industry groups for what they say are insufficient safeguards against the creation of content using the likeness of real people or protected intellectual property.
Concerns were further heightened after an X user shared a video depicting a fictional fight scene between actors Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, claiming it was created using Seedance 2.0’s short prompts. Screenwriter Rhett Reese, known for his work on Deadpool, responded that the technology presents a bleak outlook for creators.
The Motion Picture Association quickly issued a statement from CEO Charles Rivkin, calling on ByteDance to suspend its services.
“In just one day, Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 committed massive unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted material,” Rivkin said. He accused ByteDance of launching products without meaningful protections against infringement and ignoring copyright laws that support millions of American jobs.
The Human Artistry Campaign, an initiative supported by Hollywood unions and industry groups, condemned SeaDance 2.0 as an attack on creators around the world. Actors union SAG-AFTRA said it supports studios opposing what it calls blatant rights violations enabled by the new model.
The video, created by SeaDance, reportedly includes characters owned by Disney, including Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and Grogu, commonly known as Baby Yoda. Axios reported that Disney sent ByteDance a cease-and-desist letter for unauthorized reproduction and distribution of derivative works featuring its characters.
Disney has previously raised similar concerns with other technology companies, including Google, which has also pursued licensing partnerships. The company has signed a multi-year license agreement with OpenAI.
According to varietyParamount also sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance. The studio said Seadance’s platform produces content that visually and audibly resembles its films and television shows.
TechCrunch has reached out to ByteDance for comment.
