Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

57. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he supports and if his Department has been involved in discussions surrounding, a proposal for an European Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive to create a rebuttable 'presumption of causality', which would assist musicians, performers and composers to vindicate their right to equitable remuneration for use of their work by artificial intelligence companies without consent or compensation; if he considered the need for protections of this sort in domestic Irish legislation to protect the Irish music sector; and his plans to protect Irish culture from the potential harms of artificial intelligence scraping of cultural material. [34954/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I recognise the increasing importance of ensuring that the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies uphold the rights of creators, including musicians, performers, and composers. In December 2022, my Department launched a public consultation on the proposed European Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive, seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders, including those representing the creative and cultural sectors. This consultation concluded in January 2023.

However, the proposed Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive has since been withdrawn, as indicated in the European Commission’s 2025 Work Programme. The withdrawal was due to the lack of foreseeable agreement among Member States. The Commission has stated that it will evaluate whether to introduce a new proposal or consider alternative approaches to address the underlying issues.

The Government recognises the need to protect the Irish music sector and broader cultural industries from the unauthorised use of their work by AI systems, particularly in cases where such use occurs without consent or compensation.

Ireland and the EU are currently implementing the AI Act, which includes provisions related to general-purpose AI that will come into force on 2 August of this year. My Department holds a lead role in this process. These provisions will require general purpose AI providers to put in place a policy to comply with EU copyright law, and document technical information about the model for the purpose of providing that information upon request to the AI Office and national competent authorities. The AI Office, which is part of the European Commission, will directly enforce these provisions of the AI Act.

The European Commission has begun its review of the 2019 Copyright in the DSM Directive. This process is at a very early stage, and, depending on the outcome of the review process, it may result in proposed changes to EU copyright laws, including in response to technological developments and AI. My Department will engage with stakeholders in Ireland to ensure their views are considered as part of this process.