Why It Matters
The German media company Axel Springer is mounting a sustained in-house lobbying effort to secure fair compensation for journalists as AI companies train large language models on news content. The company filed its second-quarter lobbying disclosure on July 28, spending $110,000 to push copyright and artificial intelligence policy issues with federal lawmakers.
By the Numbers
Axel Springer has maintained consistent quarterly lobbying expenditures of $110,000 on AI copyright issues.
Broader Context
Publishers face a fundamental challenge: AI companies have been training large language models on journalistic content without compensating publishers. While Axel Springer struck a deal with OpenAI for content licensing worth tens of millions of euros, questions linger about whether individual journalists will see any benefit. The company's lobbying suggests it wants statutory protections in U.S. law to ensure broader compensation streams across the industry, rather than relying on fragmented corporate licensing deals.
The company listed itself as a supporter of the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act, introduced on July 23. The legislation requires automated web crawlers to accurately identify themselves and disclose their purpose when accessing websites, while prohibiting deceptive bots that impersonate human users in connection with generative AI services.
Policymakers in Europe, Brazil, and other jurisdictions are exploring statutory licensing models that would require AI companies to pay publishers for journalism used to train their systems.
The Bottom Line
Axel Springer's consistent spending approach suggests the company is building a sustained presence on copyright and AI policy.
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