On July 16, 2025, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism held a hearing on the use of copyrighted works to train artificial intelligence (AI) models. For the first time, lawmakers publicly debated how AI developers who knowingly and intentionally train AI on massive amounts of copyrighted works without permission from the creators could be liable for criminal copyright infringement. Both policymakers and the invited witnesses sounded the alarm bell about the threat this practice poses to the copyright community. In response, ASCAP submitted a statement reiterating their position on unauthorized generative AI training: “willfully using copyrighted works without permission to train AI models is not fair use, it’s theft. ASCAP has protected the value and the dignity of our members’ music for more than a century of technological innovation, and we’ll continue to do so as AI evolves.”

Commenting on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee’s hearing, ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews said:

“The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing affirmed what ASCAP has always known: American copyright law does not discourage innovation– it fuels it. The unauthorized use of copyrighted works to train generative AI models fundamentally undermines the vibrant US creative economy, which generates over a trillion dollars each year and supports the livelihoods of millions of creators.”

You can read ASCAP’s full submission HERE