Coalition senator warns AI copyright fix may breach constitution
Nationals senator Ross Cadell says an opt-out model for AI scraping could expose the government to compensation claims from rights holders worldwide
Coalition senators and the recording industry have warned that altering Australian copyright law to let AI companies scrape music, books and journalism could breach the constitution, raising fears of mass legal action and compensation claims from rights holders worldwide, the Guardian reported. Nationals senator Ross Cadell said the government "could be liable for 'just terms' compensation for acquiring that property for every rights holder on Earth," while shadow attorney general Michaelia Cash said the government should not "sell out Australian creators and rights holders in the rush to entice AI investment."
The attorney general's department told a committee hearing it was "extremely alive" to the issue, according to the Guardian, though officials did not directly answer Cadell's question about liability to foreign rights holders. Constitutional law professor emerita Anne Twomey said there was "potentially" a concern depending on how legislation was drafted, noting no legislative proposal had yet been aired and that past High Court cases on copyright and acquisition of property, including those involving video games, cigarette plain packaging and cassette tapes, had produced varying outcomes.
Annabelle Herd, CEO of the Australian Recording Industry Association, said any AI data-scraping proposal was "clearly an acquisition of property" and could lead to a constitutional challenge. A spokesperson for Attorney General Michelle Rowland said the government was "committed to supporting" creatives and that future copyright changes would "deliver meaningful control and fair compensation."
Here's the thing about "just terms" compensation: it exists to protect property owners from governments that take first and figure out the bill later. If an opt-out model for AI scraping counts as the government handing over your copyright, you're the property owner in that sentence. Nobody's drafted the legislation yet, so there's nothing to fight today, but this is exactly the kind of fight worth watching before it's finalized, not after. Watch for the actual bill text when it lands, and if you're a rights holder, that's the moment to read the fine print on any "opt-out" mechanism yourself rather than trusting a summary of it.
From the Coral Wire edition of Sun, Nov 1 2026 · Coral Index 31/100 (Storm warning)