The Premier League has criticised the government over proposed changes to copyright laws relating to the use of AI. The reforms, which have been criticised by a plethora of musical artists, are aimed at making the UK an attractive tech hub, but have been met with concern relating to ownership
Matt Hardy
Tuesday 07 April 2026 10:16 am | Updated: Tuesday 07 April 2026 10:17 am
The Premier League has criticised the government over proposed changes to copyright laws relating to the use of AI.
The reforms, which have been criticised by a plethora of musical artists, are aimed at making the UK an attractive tech hub, but have been met with concern relating to ownership of copyright information and access to it by artificial intelligence.
A Freedom of Information Request by the Times revealed opposition by the Premier League, which stated “strong copyright protections have been fundamental to the Premier League’s success”, and that the English top flight supports nearly 100,000 jobs and generates £8bn annually to the UK economy in “gross value added”.
The letter questions “whether the contribution of the Premier League, and the UK sports sector more generally has properly been taken into account”.
Government plans to allow AI firms to use copyrighted content without the owner’s permission have now been dropped, but was criticised by the Premier League, whose accumulative global media rights value is set to hit over £12bn at the end of its current cycle.
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It “risks undermining the UK’s creative economy by weakening the IP [intellectual property] framework that has made its sports broadcasting a global leader”, the league says.
A government spokesman said: “We are putting in the work so that both the creative and technical sectors, including the sports industry, can flourish in this country.
“Following our consultation and extensive engagement across industry, we have already confirmed that the government no longer has a preferred option.
“It will take time to get this right. We have identified four areas where we will focus the next phase of this work, including on digital replicas, labelling AI generated content, creator control and transparency, and support for smaller and independent creatives to license their content. We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders throughout this process.”
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