Hollywood teams say the AI video instrument makes use of the likeness of actors and others with out permission.
Printed On 16 Feb 2026
China’s ByteDance has pledged to deal with issues over its new synthetic intelligence video generator, after Hollywood teams claimed Seedance 2.0 “blatantly” violates copyright and makes use of the likenesses of actors and others with out permission.
The corporate, which owns TikTok, advised The Related Press information company on Sunday that it respects mental property rights and pledged motion to strengthen safeguards.
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The instrument, referred to as Seedance 2.0, is offered solely in China for now and lets customers generate high-quality AI movies utilizing easy textual content prompts.
The Movement Image Affiliation (MPA) said final week that Seedance 2.0 “has engaged in unauthorized use of US copyrighted works on a large scale”.
“By launching a service that operates with out significant safeguards in opposition to infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright regulation that protects the rights of creators and underpins thousands and thousands of American jobs. ByteDance ought to instantly stop its infringing exercise,” Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the MPA, mentioned in an announcement on February 10.
Screenwriter Rhett Reese, who wrote the Deadpool films, mentioned on X final week, “I hate to say it. It’s seemingly over for us.”
His put up was in response to Irish director Ruairi Robinson’s put up of a Seedance 2.0 video that went viral and reveals AI variations of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt preventing in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Actors union SAG-AFTRA mentioned on Friday it “stands with the studios in condemning the blatant infringement” enabled by Seedance 2.0.
“The infringement consists of the unauthorized use of our members’ voices and likenesses. That is unacceptable and undercuts the power of human expertise to earn a livelihood,” SAG-AFTRA mentioned in an announcement.
“Seedance 2.0 disregards regulation, ethics, business requirements and fundamental ideas of consent. Accountable AI improvement calls for accountability, and that’s nonexistent right here.”
ByteDance mentioned in response that it has heard the issues concerning Seedance 2.0.
“We’re taking steps to strengthen present safeguards as we work to forestall the unauthorised use of mental property and likeness by customers,” it advised the AP.
Jonathan Handel, an leisure journalist and lawyer, advised Al Jazeera the developments mark “the start of a tough street” for the movie business.
Till courts make a big ruling, AI-generated movies can have main implications on the movie business,” he mentioned.
“Digital expertise strikes rather a lot faster, and we’re going to see in a number of years full-length films which are AI-generated,” he mentioned.
These instruments are educated totally on unlicensed knowledge, Handel mentioned, and the output may resemble faces and scenes from well-known films, “and so that you’ve bought copyrights, logos, all of these rights are implicated right here”.
