Hollywood’s leading organisations have condemned Chinese firm ByteDance for launching Seedance 2.0, an AI platform that generates lifelike videos from text prompts.
Available only in China, it has sparked outrage with online examples featuring protected characters from Marvel and Star Wars, plus likenesses of celebrities like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
The Motion Picture Association, representing Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Universal, Paramount Skydance, and Sony, demanded last week that ByteDance stop what it called infringing activity.
“In a single day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale,” said MPA chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin.
“By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs.”
Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance on Friday, accusing it of bundling pirated characters into the tool as if they were public-domain assets. Paramount Skydance followed with a similar notice over the weekend.
ByteDance pledged action in response to media queries.
“ByteDance respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0,” a spokesperson stated.
“We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users,” the spokesperson added.
Actors’ union SAG-AFTRA echoed the studios’ concerns, criticising the tool for exploiting performers’ voices and images without consent.