ByteDance responds to Seedance 2.0 backlash
ByteDance announced it will add safeguards to its Seedance 2.0 AI video generator following legal threats and backlash from Hollywood. Major studios including Disney and Paramount reportedly threatened legal action over claims of “massive copyright infringement.” The company’s move to implement safeguards was shared in response to concerns that the tool could generate unauthorized reproductions of intellectual property and celebrity likenesses.
- The controversy erupted after users generated and shared highly realistic video clips, including one of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting and others featuring characters from Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars franchises. - The Motion Picture Association (MPA), representing major studios like Netflix and Warner Bros., accused Seedance 2.0 of engaging in "unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale." - Disney's cease-and-desist letter alleged that ByteDance supplied the tool with a "pirated library" of its characters and committed a "virtual smash-and-grab" of its intellectual property. - The actors' union SAG-AFTRA also condemned the tool, stating the "unauthorized use of our members' voices and likenesses...undercuts the ability of human talent to earn a livelihood." - The backlash extends beyond the U.S., with Japan's government launching its own investigation into potential copyright infringement of well-known anime and manga characters. - Seedance 2.0 is a multimodal AI model, meaning it can generate video from a combination of text, image, audio, and video inputs, allowing for precise control over elements like camera movement and choreography. - The tool, which can generate videos up to 15 seconds long in 2K resolution, is currently available in China under the name Xiaoyunque on the website of ByteDance's video editor, Jianying, which is known internationally as CapCut. - While ByteDance has stated it will strengthen safeguards, it has not yet specified what those technical or policy changes will be.
