SAG-AFTRA AI Protections Set Benchmark for UK Negotiations
Equity, the UK performing arts and entertainment union, congratulated SAG-AFTRA on ratifying a new agreement that includes stronger AI protections for workers. Equity is now pushing PACT (Producers Alliance for Film and TV) to adopt these global minimum AI standards for UK performers in ongoing negotiations. The SAG-AFTRA agreement sets a precedent for explicit protections around digital replicas, consent, data security, and favoring human performances.
Key Takeaways
- SAG-AFTRA's new agreement includes explicit protections for digital replicas, consent, data security, and a preference for human performances.
- Equity's general secretary, Paul W Fleming, stated that these SAG-AFTRA provisions establish a "global minimum standard" for AI protections.
- Equity members voted 99% in December 2025 for industrial action to secure adequate AI protections, with a 75% turnout.
- Current Equity-PACT agreements lack specific AI protections, making these ongoing negotiations critical for UK performers.
Additional Context
The push for AI protections in the UK entertainment industry follows persistent efforts by Equity. In December 2025, 99% of UK film and TV performers through Equity voted for industrial action over AI, specifically to refuse digital scanning on set, as reported by Screen. This indicative ballot demonstrated a strong mandate for the union's stance on AI. Equity's General Secretary, Paul W Fleming, noted that despite 18 months of talks, a stalemate existed, emphasizing the need for producers and streamers to engage with new AI proposals (Screen, December 2025). Separately, Equity also welcomed the UK government's decision to move away from an 'opt-out' exception for AI training, which would have allowed developers to scrape creators' work without explicit consent. Equity viewed this rollback as a recognition that selling out the UK's creative industries to benefit AI tech companies would have been an act of "national self-sabotage" (Equity, December 2025). Furthermore, Welsh TV performers, also under Equity, recently secured landmark AI protections in a new agreement with Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru (TAC) for Welsh-language productions. This deal, ratified unanimously in May 2026, ensures performers' voices and likenesses cannot be digitally recreated or exploited without informed consent, marking one of the first collective bargaining deals in the UK with such specific safeguards (Nation.Cymru, June 2026).
Read full article at thecanary.co
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