EXCLUSIVE: Child acting agents have called on studios and producers to insert “non-AI” clauses into contracts following a backlash against artificial intelligence terms on Peppa Pig.
The UK’s Agents of Young Performers Association (AYPA) wants clauses in acting contracts that explicitly prevent studios from using AI to capture, clone, train, or reuse a child’s voice.
The AYPA, which represents more than 40 agents, said children cannot provide fully informed legal consent to AI exploiting their voice or image.
The AYPA added that parents or guardians are not always aware of what is acceptable in a contract, and often feel pressured to sign AI terms for fear of their child missing out on a role.
The intervention comes as Deadline reported on Thursday that Hasbro has asked child actors on the animated series to sign over their voices to artificial intelligence under new contract terms.
The AYPA said similar clauses are becoming more commonplace across the industry. Sometimes they extend to image rights on modelling jobs, according to the group.
“It shouldn’t even be a matter of discussion,” said AYPA co-chair Sarah Macdonnell, who runs Ardent Talent. “Every single agent is fighting for a non-AI clause to be added to contracts that come in, and it’s a huge fight.”
She continued: “It’s about [stopping] part of a child’s identity being taken from them and put into a system. And then where has it gone? What control do we have over where and how that voice is used?”
Earlier this week, the AYPA wrote an open letter on the matter, in which it said: “No child should have their future professional identity shaped by an AI model created before they were old enough to understand its consequences.”
The AYPA is planning to put the issue on the radar of UK authorities, including the Department for Education and the National Network for Children in Employment and Entertainment, in an effort to provide protections for young people.
Others have also voiced concern. Commenting on Deadline’s story on Instagram, The Great actress Charity Wakefield wrote: “No No No.” Jo Frost, star of the hit reality series Supernanny, said it was “deplorable.”
Commenting on the Peppa Pig backlash, Hasbro said: “Hasbro is aware of the open letter circulating regarding AI clauses in children’s performance contracts. We are not able to comment on specific negotiations or contractual arrangements.
“The protection of child performers is core to who Hasbro is, it’s part of our DNA. As industry standards around AI continue to evolve, we are committed to engaging with this issue in a responsible and transparent manner.”
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