Most AI Likeness Victims Want Takedowns, Not Lawsuits, SAG-AFTRA Chief Says
Most people whose image or voice is misused by AI want the fake content removed, not a court fight for money. That is the view of Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief executive of the actors' union SAG-AFTRA, who made the point at Web Summit in Lisbon.
Speaking in a session moderated by Deadline, the entertainment trade publication, Crabtree-Ireland said that 90 per cent or more of the time, victims want the content taken down rather than pursue damages through litigation. He framed this as the practical reality for performers, not a legal preference.
He also said his own likeness had been misused while SAG-AFTRA members were on strike in 2023. He spoke as a union leader whose members have been pressing for protections against digital copies of their work since that strike.
The protection he backed is the proposed No Fakes Act, a bill in the United States. Crabtree-Ireland described it as a way to give people more control over their own voice and likeness. He was specific about what it would do: make platforms remove content that uses a person's image, likeness or voice without permission. It is not, he said, about suing for money.
Not every performer agrees that AI should be allowed in the business at all. Crabtree-Ireland estimated that 10 to 15 per cent of SAG-AFTRA members want to block AI entirely. The remainder, in his framing, are looking for rules on how it is used.
The session took place in a week when AI was a visible presence at the conference. Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated performer, had appeared as a guest on Web Summit's main stage earlier in the week.
What it means for working actors is simple to state. A takedown request asks a platform to remove a fake. A damages claim asks a court to decide what the harm was worth. Crabtree-Ireland's argument is that the first is the outcome most people actually want, and that the law should make it quick to get.
Whether the No Fakes Act passes, and in what form, is not settled. For now, the union's position is that the fastest route to protection is the one that gets fake material off the internet before it spreads further.
