# Experts warn AI copyright changes could breach Australian constitution and spark huge compensation rights case

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/experts-warn-ai-copyright-changes-could-breach-australian-constitution-and-spark-huge-compensation-rights-case/
- Published: 2026-10-30T14:00:18+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-30T15:20:25+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/oct/31/experts-warn-ai-copyright-changes-could-breach-australian-constitution-and-spark-huge-compensation-rights-case
- Topics: AI, Cybersecurity, Entertainment, Geopolitics, Government, Music, Politics, Software, Technology

## Key points

- Proposed AI copyright changes may face a constitutional challenge.
- Rights holders could seek compensation if their protections are reduced.
- The government has yet to set out a legislative proposal.

## Summary

Coalition senators, recording industry representatives and constitutional experts have warned that weakening Australian copyright law to let AI firms scrape creative work could raise constitutional questions and lead to large compensation claims. The concern is that giving companies permission to use copyrighted material while reducing creators’ rights might amount to the government acquiring property without providing “just terms”.

The government is considering copyright changes as part of broader AI reforms, but has not published a proposal. Anthropic has suggested an opt-out system, under which material could be scraped unless rights holders use digital protections to object; constitutional law expert Anne Twomey said the legal risk would depend on how any law is drafted, and the attorney general’s department said it was alert to the issue.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.