Inger Elise Mey, Director of the International Department at TONO, warns that the "AI Act", as it is currently planned to be implemented, will weaken copyright and allow technology companies to use music without permission and without paying the authors. (Photo: Kristian Dugstad/TONO)
TONO's optimism about the EU's AI law has been replaced by deep concern. - If the latest changes remain in place, it will be impossible to protect music creators and other creative professions. The consequences will be very damaging, and TONO, together with a united creative Europe, now urges the EU to turn around, says Inger Elise Mey at TONO.
/ 15/08/2025 / Willy MartinsenThe artificial intelligence revolution is fully upon us. The AI Act, adopted by the EU in 2024, will ensure that AI in Europe is used and developed in a safe and fair manner, respecting fundamental rights such as health, safety, privacy and non-discrimination.
The law will also apply to companies in other parts of the world that offer their services to Europe. It is the first in the world to regulate the use of artificial intelligence.
– For TONO and our members, the AI Act is of great importance, because it also contains rules for generative artificial intelligence, that is, technologies that create text, images, sound and music based on large amounts of human-made material, says Inger Elise Mey, Department Director for International at TONO. Mey is now deeply concerned about how the EU intends to implement the law.
When the AI Act was passed, it was met with optimism from TONO and creative Europe – especially because it made clear demands on technology companies to respect copyright.
But in June, the European Commission published three important documents outlining how AI companies should comply with the law. For TONO, this was a dramatic turning point.
– The documents are a voluntary industry standard for AI developers, guidelines for general AI models and a template for documentation of training data. These undermine copyright, says Inger Elise Mey, Department Director for International at TONO.
She points out that Article 53 of the law states that copyright holders should be given better opportunities to enforce copyright, and that AI companies should be open about what they have trained their models on. The new guidelines do not follow these principles.
"If the latest changes remain in place, it will be impossible to protect music creators and other creative professions. It will be extremely damaging, and we, together with a united creative Europe, are now urgently asking the EU to reverse course," she says.
One of the most serious problems is that the documents do not require licensing. This means that AI companies can use copyrighted content without first asking for permission. Instead, the responsibility is placed on the copyright holders, who must themselves refrain from such use.
– What was previously a given in Norwegian law, that you had to give consent before your work could be used, has now been completely turned on its head. Now you have to figure out how to reserve it yourself. This provides far weaker protection, says Mey.
In addition, it is unclear whether copyright applies at all if the training of AI models takes place outside the EU.
For TONO members, this is all about the very basics.
– You who write and own the rights to your music should have control over your own works. When companies train AI models, they use and analyze enormous amounts of material, including music. If your music is part of this, you should give your consent through TONO and get paid through TONO for it. If the EU does not now change course and adjust the three documents, in practice TONO members and other rights holders may be left without real protection, says Mey,
– Your music can be used to train AI systems without your permission, without you knowing about it, and without you getting paid. This is what TONO is fighting against.
TONO tries to influence European and Norwegian authorities. We do this through our European and international umbrella organizations and together with our sister organizations. But we also take our own actions, directly towards the EU and Norwegian authorities.
– Among other things, this summer we have submitted written input to both the Directorate for Digitalisation and the Ministry of Digitalisation, and not least to the EU directly. We are also an active party in the work through Gesac and CISAC, which, among other things, have had and are having meetings with the EU Commission and the working groups working on the implementation, she says
TONO supports the broad alliance of rights organizations that are now calling on the European Commission to go back and change course. The Commission must ensure that the AI Act actually protects rights holders – as it was intended to do.
– If Europe is to succeed, we must build technological solutions that also respect rights and values. What the EU has done now is to side with the technology companies instead of standing up for those who create the content. That cannot go unchallenged, says Inger Elise Mey.