The Wall Street Journal reports that a powerful coalition of studios, guilds and A-list talent is swarming Washington and the courts to stop tech companies from training generative-AI models on movies, music and performances without permission.
Disney chief Bob Iger has joined actress-activist Natasha Lyonne in warning that “unfettered” data-scraping could wipe out creative jobs, while Disney and Universal have already hauled Midjourney into court for producing AI-generated princesses and minions. At the same time, judges have issued split rulings on whether ingesting copyrighted works is “fair use,” leaving billions of dollars in AI bets hanging in the balance. From the Journal‘s story:
Hollywood actors, directors and other creatives are pushing back on the loosening of AI regulations, with more than 420 entertainment industry insiders signing an open letter urging the government to uphold copyright laws that apply to artificial intelligence…
The letter states that OpenAI and Google have recently recommended the government remove “all legal protections and existing guardrails surrounding copyright law protections for the training of Artificial Intelligence.” The group believes loosening copyright laws to help AI learn would come at the expense of creative industries.
The report documents mounting frustration throughout Hollywood: studios and creators say AI developers scrape film libraries, scripts, voice recordings, and concept art—without consent, credit, or compensation. Copyright enforcement agencies are overwhelmed. Attempts at voluntary licensing deals have mostly failed. And the legal system is nowhere near consensus.
Big Tech shareholders should be concerned, and NLPC saw it coming. NLPC filed resolutions at Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet urging their boards to commission a third-party risk audit of the companies’ AI-related legal and financial exposure, including issues tied to data provenance, licensing, and litigation. The proposals all garnered strong support, including 36% at Microsoft after it gained the support of Glass Lewis, one of the major proxy advisors.
Now, just one year later, the core scenario we highlighted—large-scale industry backlash over AI data use—is playing out in real time. And it’s not just content companies: hedge funds, media outlets, software developers, and even governments are considering similar actions.
Hollywood may be the canary, but the copyright minefield Microsoft is walking through spans the entire economy. The Journal’s report makes clear that this isn’t a future problem—it’s already detonating. Investors have the right to know what financial exposure lurks behind the company’s AI hype.
NLPC has re-filed its Microsoft shareholder proposal in 2025, and we would not be surprised to find even broader support as lawsuits multiply and the cost of silence becomes clear.
