In a much anticipated report on AI and Copyright presented to parliament on 18 March 2026, the UK Government has now confirmed that the opt-out text and data mining exception ("TDM") they had previously touted was now “no longer the Government's preferred way forward”. 

There were whispers that this may be the case towards the end of last year (see our blogs keeping up with developments, here, and here), but this has not deterred characterisation as “backtracking” and “another U-turn”. 

For context, an opt-out TDM would have allowed AI-developers to train their models without permission or licence, unless a rights-holders specifically opted out. This puts the onus on the rightsholder, unlike in an opt-in system (such as that adopted in the EU) where the rightsholder must have opted in for developers to be able to use their copyright protected material. This position caused a backlash, from creative industries to the House of Lords. These stakeholders have welcomed this latest decision to drop the opt-out TDM as the preferred option. 

As it has found out, the Government is caught between a fast-growing AI sector intent on removing obstacles to development, and IP rightsholders such as musicians not wanting their hard work used to train these models without their permission or compensation. 

In the music industry specifically, there has been a proliferation of AI-generated music, and indeed some of this music has been well-received by the market (in some cases even threatening to top charts, see our previous articles). 

The Government is essentially now saying it is back to the drawing board, and that they will need to further “explore options”. This sounds a lot like kicking the can down the road, which causes continued uncertainty on the regulation of AI in a copyright context - a position undesirable to both rightsholders or AI developers. 

The most balanced comment in this BBC article comes from Jo Twist, the chief executive for BPI (British Phonographic Industry) that there is “real opportunity here” for rightsholders too, in terms of the licensing market. The Government needs to pave a path for responsible development of AI, fostering a leading national environment for the industry. However, it should not do so at the “expense of our creativity”. It is no easy task to strike this balance.