Introduction

Vimeo, a popular video platform, has made a strong commitment to filmmakers, declaring it will not allow AI data scraping from its site. This decision follows a recent survey conducted by Vimeo to gauge the sentiments of the filmmaking community regarding AI.

Survey Results

The survey revealed significant concerns among filmmakers about AI, particularly the unauthorized use of copyrighted work to train AI models and the protection of intellectual property. These findings were no surprise, reflecting widespread apprehension within the creative community.

No Data Scraping

In a statement, Vimeo CEO Philip Moyer assured users, “Vimeo will not allow generative AI models to be trained using videos hosted on our platform without your explicit consent, even if you use our free offerings.” Moyer further emphasized the prohibition of unauthorized content scraping by AI model companies and highlighted the ongoing implementation of security protocols to protect user-generated content. This is especially important as Vimeo, like many other platforms, begins to incorporate AI tools.

Protecting Creative Rights

Vimeo’s statement also detailed its key commitments to the creative video community, including:

• Protecting Creative Rights: Ensuring the protection of intellectual property.
• Transparency and Control: Providing clear guidelines and control to users over their content.
• Community Feedback: Encouraging open dialogue and discussion around AI and its impacts.

Industry Context

Recent revelations have shown that some major generative AI companies have been scraping data from platforms like YouTube and other stock photo sites without permission. Notably, OpenAI’s Sora, which impressed many with its capabilities, was found to have trained its AI on YouTube content without consent, violating terms and conditions. This has highlighted a broader issue where significant sums of money exchange hands for training content, yet creators and artists see none of these benefits.

Conclusion

Vimeo’s firm stance against AI data scraping is a commendable move in protecting the rights of content creators. By ensuring explicit consent and prohibiting unauthorized scraping, Vimeo sets a positive example for other platforms. The commitment to transparency, control, and community feedback demonstrates Vimeo’s dedication to supporting and respecting its creative community. Time will tell if their actions will fully align with their promises, but for now, Vimeo’s stance is a step in the right direction.