ByteDance Faces Hollywood Backlash Over AI Video Generator Seedance 2.0

Beijing-based ByteDance, the creator of TikTok, is facing significant criticism from Hollywood organizations over its new artificial intelligence video generator, Seedance 2.0. Concerns center around alleged copyright violations and unauthorized use of actors’ likenesses.

Seedance 2.0 and the Copyright Concerns

Seedance 2.0, currently available primarily to users in mainland China through the Jimeng AI app, allows users to generate high-quality AI videos from simple text prompts. The tool has quickly drawn condemnation from the movie and television industry due to its ability to create realistic deepfakes featuring copyrighted characters and actors. Whereas not yet officially available outside of China, ByteDance plans to integrate Seedance 2.0 into CapCut, its popular video editor for TikTok users worldwide.

Industry Response and Legal Threats

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) issued a statement asserting that Seedance 2.0 “has engaged in unauthorized use of U.S. Copyrighted works on a massive scale.” Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the MPA, called on ByteDance to immediately cease its infringing activity, stating that the service operates without sufficient safeguards against copyright infringement and disregards established copyright law that supports millions of American jobs. Disney and Paramount have reportedly sent cease and desist letters to ByteDance regarding the unauthorized use of their intellectual property.

Disney accused ByteDance of populating Seedance 2.0 with a “pirated library of Disney’s copyrighted characters,” while Paramount cited the creation of “vivid depictions of Paramount’s famous and iconic franchises and characters.”

Concerns from Creative Professionals

The concerns extend beyond studios to individual creative professionals. Rhett Reese, screenwriter of “Deadpool,” expressed his apprehension on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.” This comment followed Irish filmmaker Ruairí Robinson’s post of an AI-generated video created with Seedance 2.0 depicting Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting in a post-apocalyptic setting. The clip of Cruise and Pitt garnered over 3.2 million views, demonstrating the tool’s capabilities and raising alarms within the industry.

SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, also condemned the infringement, highlighting the unauthorized use of its members’ voices and likenesses. The union emphasized that Seedance 2.0 disregards law, ethics, industry standards and basic principles of consent, and that responsible AI development requires accountability, which it believes is currently lacking.

ByteDance’s Response

ByteDance acknowledged the concerns and stated its commitment to respecting intellectual property rights. A spokesperson for ByteDance told the BBC, “We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users.” The company has promised to improve safeguards around intellectual property rights to limit what its AI tool can generate.

Seedance 2.0’s Capabilities

Seedance 2.0 utilizes a unified multimodal audio-video joint generation architecture, supporting text, image, audio, and video inputs. This allows for comprehensive multimodal content reference and editing capabilities. According to ByteDance, this makes it one of the most advanced video models currently available, competing with OpenAI’s Sora 2, Google’s Veo 3.1, and Kuaishou’s Kling 3.0.