🎬 ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, says it will tighten copyright safeguards in its Seedance 2.0 AI video generator after Hollywood pushback and a cease-and-desist letter from Disney over videos that recreate copyrighted characters 231. Seedance 2.0, currently available only in China, can generate high-quality AI videos from text prompts and has gone viral for hyperrealistic clips featuring famous actors and recognizable franchises 123.
Disney’s letter says Seedance users reproduced and distributed Disney characters and made derivative works featuring them, while the Motion Picture Association (MPA) accused the service of using U.S. copyrighted works at scale without authorization 21. SAG-AFTRA also objected to what it called unauthorized use of performers’ voices and likenesses, warning it could threaten members’ ability to earn a living 1. ByteDance said it respects intellectual property rights and has heard the concerns 2.
Sources
- Top Hollywood screenwriter warns TikTok’s new tool is at the gates: ‘I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us’ [fortune.com] (2026-02-16)
- ByteDance says it's going to make it harder for Seedance to make AI videos of copyrighted movie characters [businessinsider.com] (2026-02-16)
- ByteDance to curb AI video app after Disney legal threat [bbc.com] (2026-02-16)
Highlights
- Viral deepfake example: Business Insider cited an AI video of a fake Tom Cruise fighting a fake Brad Pitt on a rooftop that “freaked the internet out,” underscoring just how realistic Seedance clips can look 2.
- Disney’s wording: The cease-and-desist letter said Seedance users were “hijacking Disney's characters,” and accused them of reproducing and distributing those characters and creating derivative works featuring them 2.
- MPA’s safeguards critique: The MPA said Seedance 2.0 ran “without meaningful safeguards against infringement,” argued that copyright protections support “millions of American jobs,” and urged ByteDance to stop the activity 1.
- Creator alarm: Screenwriter Rhett Rheese wrote on X—responding to director Ruairí Robinson’s post of a Seedance-generated clip—“I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.” 1.
Perspectives
ByteDance: The company said it respects intellectual property rights and plans to strengthen safeguards to prevent users from unauthorized use of IP and likenesses.
Disney: Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter alleging Seedance-related content reproduced and distributed its characters and created derivative works.
SAG-AFTRA: The actors union said the dispute includes unauthorized use of members’ voices and likenesses, and argued it undercuts performers’ livelihoods.
Motion Picture Association: The MPA called on ByteDance to stop what it described as large-scale unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works, and criticized a lack of “meaningful safeguards against infringement.”
Screenwriter Rhett Rheese: Rheese wrote on X, reacting to a Seedance clip, “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.”