VAUNET, Germany’s Association of Private Media, has expressed support for the EU Parliament’s proposal to take generative artificial intelligence (AI) into account in the AI Act and suggests further adjustments.
This input comes against a backdrop of input coming from countries across Europe. The European Union’s AI Act has been under development since 2021 and first presented by the European Commission in April of 2022.
The organization makes suggestions in three areas.
- Documentation instead of summary: More detailed requirements should be provided for the identification of copyrighted content used for training, and there must be mechanisms in the AI Act that make it easier for rights holders to assert their rights, while at the same time providers of AI systems/foundation models must ensure clarity through transparent documentation.
- More precise terms/definitions with regard to generative AI are important: including a precise definition of generative AI and a clearer distinction between the terms “generative AI” and “general purpose AI”.
- Enabling delegated acts: VAUNET supports the proposal by some members of Parliament to authorize the EU Commission to issue delegated acts so that it can react flexibly to new regulatory requirements.
Further reading
VAUNET position on the AI Act: Protection of copyrights is essential when training generative AI system. Press release. October 18, 2023. VAUNET (Auto-translated from German to English by Google Translate)
The AI Act. A collection of the official AI Act documents in one place. Ongoing resource. Organized by Kai Zenner, Head of Office for Axel Voss, Member of the European Parliament.
Why it matters
VAUNET says that while the EU Parliament’s proposal includes, among other things, a transparency obligation for providers of generative AI to document and make publicly accessible a summary of the use of copyrighted training data goes in the right direction, the obligation should also be further specified and supplemented.
VAUNET is the umbrella organization of audio and audiovisual media companies in Germany and the largest representative body of commercial broadcasting interests in Europe. Its 160 members enrich Germany’s media landscape through diversity, creativity and innovation.
