ByteDance Moves to Restrict AI Video Tool Amid Mounting Legal Pressure from Hollywood
ByteDance has said it will tighten controls on its artificial intelligence video generator after facing legal threats from Disney and criticism from other major entertainment groups.
The response follows a surge of highly realistic videos created with the latest version of ByteDance’s AI tool, Seedance 2.0, which launched earlier this month. Clips produced using the platform have spread rapidly online, drawing attention both for their technical sophistication and for their resemblance to well-known film and television characters.
Hollywood studios, however, have raised concerns that the tool enables copyright infringement. Disney confirmed it sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance on Friday, alleging that Seedance had access to a “pirated library” of copyrighted material. The studio said characters from its franchises, including Marvel and Star Wars, were being reproduced without permission.
In a statement to the BBC on Monday, ByteDance said it “respects intellectual property rights” and acknowledged concerns surrounding the latest version of Seedance. The company said it was strengthening safeguards to prevent users from generating unauthorised content based on protected works or real individuals, but declined to provide details on how those measures would work.
Seedance, like other generative AI tools, produces short videos from written prompts. Since the release of version 2.0, some clips have gone viral, including videos purporting to show well-known characters from blockbuster franchises interacting or fighting in realistic settings. ByteDance has not disclosed what data was used to train the model.
The company has previously said it had already disabled features allowing users to upload images of real people, and reiterated that it takes allegations of copyright infringement seriously.
Disney’s legal warning comes as the company pursues a more selective approach to AI partnerships. Last year, it struck a deal reportedly worth $1bn with OpenAI, granting licensed access to characters from brands such as Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars for use on approved platforms.
Other studios have also pushed back against Seedance. Paramount Skydance is reported to have issued its own cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, demanding that its content no longer be used by the tool. The studio has been approached for comment.
Industry bodies have joined the criticism. The Motion Picture Association, which represents companies including Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount and Netflix, has called on Seedance to halt what it described as infringing activity. Actors’ union SAG-AFTRA has also accused the platform of widespread copyright violations.
Concerns have spread beyond the US. The Japanese government has launched an investigation into ByteDance after AI-generated videos featuring characters from popular Japanese anime franchises appeared online.
Seedance is not the only AI tool facing legal scrutiny. Disney and NBCUniversal are currently suing Midjourney over claims it produces unauthorised copies of copyrighted works, while Disney has also asked Google to limit the generation of its characters on Google’s AI platforms.
The growing dispute highlights escalating tensions between technology firms and the entertainment industry as generative AI tools become more powerful and widely used.
