ByteDance faces mounting legal pressure and industry condemnation after its Seedance 2.0 AI video model flooded the internet with copyrighted content and unauthorized actor likenesses, prompting cease-and-desist letters from Disney and Paramount alongside a scathing statement from actors' union SAG-AFTRA calling the launch "an attack on every creator around the world."
The controversy erupted within days of Seedance 2.0's February 12 launch, as users generated videos featuring copyrighted intellectual property ranging from Disney characters to scenes mimicking expensive Hollywood productions. Actor Scott Adkins discovered his own likeness in a Seedance-generated video he never filmed, responding on X: "I don't remember shooting this! Must've slipped my mind."
Disney and Paramount Issue Legal Demands
Disney sent ByteDance a cease-and-desist letter accusing the company of engaging in "virtual smash-and-grab of Disney's IP," according to Axios reporting confirmed by a source familiar with the matter. Paramount Skydance followed with its own legal demand Saturday, joining Disney in alleging unauthorized use of copyrighted works.
Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, accused Seedance 2.0 of "engaging in unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale" and demanded ByteDance "immediately cease its infringing activity."
"By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs," Rivkin wrote in a statement issued shortly after the model's viral launch.
SAG-AFTRA Condemns "Blatant Infringement"
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists issued its own condemnation, stating Seedance 2.0 "disregards law, ethics, industry standards and basic principles of consent."
"The infringement includes the unauthorized use of our members' voices and likenesses. This is unacceptable and undercuts the ability of human talent to earn a livelihood," SAG-AFTRA wrote in its February 16 statement. "Responsible AI development demands responsibility, and that is nonexistent here."
The Human Artistry Campaign, representing dozens of creative organizations globally, called the launch "an attack on every creator around the world" and urged authorities to "use every legal tool at their disposal to stop this wholesale theft."
ByteDance Promises to "Strengthen Current Safeguards"
ByteDance responded Sunday evening with a statement acknowledging the concerns and pledging action. "ByteDance respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0," a spokesperson told NBC News. "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 had already suspended Seedance 2.0's voice generation feature after privacy concerns emerged, but the broader copyright issues persist across visual content generation.
Hollywood's "DeepSeek Moment"
Industry observers are calling the Seedance controversy Hollywood's "DeepSeek moment," referencing the Chinese large language model that tanked Silicon Valley stocks last year after outperforming major American AI companies on benchmarks. Now Chinese AI threatens disruption in entertainment production rather than just technology services.
"Deadpool" screenwriter Rhett Reese expressed the anxiety gripping Hollywood after viewing a Seedance-generated fight scene between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise that required only a "2 line prompt." "I hate to say it. It's likely over for us," Reese wrote on X, later clarifying he's "terrified" about AI's "encroachment into creative endeavors."
The situation mirrors concerns during OpenAI's Sora 2 launch last fall, which similarly enabled generation of copyrighted characters. However, OpenAI subsequently struck a three-year deal with Disney allowing licensed use of its IP, a path ByteDance has not yet pursued with Hollywood studios.
Seedance 2.0 remains available primarily to mainland Chinese users through ByteDance's Jimeng AI app and will soon integrate into CapCut, a popular video editor for TikTok creators worldwide.
