A Canadian House of Commons committee proposes standardized, visible labels for AI-generated content across all sectors, including digital platforms and broadcasters, to enhance transparency and protect Canada’s information and cultural ecosystem.

Witnesses warn that AI could threaten the creative sector through unauthorized training on copyrighted works, proliferation of synthetic content, competition with creators, potential job losses, and erosion of cultural sovereignty and diversity driven by tech giants.

The labeling framework should rely on metadata, digital watermarks, or other robust technical solutions to ensure AI-created content is easily identifiable.

Artists and witnesses call for explicit copyright protections when AI uses literature, art, and music, arguing current protections focus on human-created works.

The recommendations prioritize safeguarding creators’ rights and ensuring creators can control how their works are used in AI systems.

The report urges a clear opt-in consent requirement for using copyrighted works in AI training, preventing text-and-data mining or model development without creators’ authorization.

It also asks the government to ensure the Copyright Act covers AI-generated content and to mandate greater transparency from AI developers about training with copyrighted works to enable proper licensing.

Witnesses advocate prohibiting AI training on copyrighted works without proper authorization and support licensing mechanisms for training data.

There is concern that regulation is needed to prevent AI from replacing aspects of human creativity, though some experts compare AI shifts to past technological changes and emphasize adaptation for creators.

Overall, the report views AI as a powerful creative tool but urges safeguards to protect creators, maintain content integrity, and ensure transparency and accountability in AI development and deployment.

The report, released April 16, 2026, emphasizes safeguarding creators’ rights and cultural sovereignty amid AI advances.

The document notes ongoing legal actions against tech giants over using copyrighted works to train AI and cites lawsuits by Canadian media against OpenAI for scraping proprietary content.