A YouTube statement says Google is using its expansive YouTube video library to train artificial intelligence models, including Gemini and the Veo 3 video generator, CNBC reports. 

“We’ve always used YouTube content to make our products better, and this hasn’t changed with the advent of AI,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. The company added that it has “invested in robust protections” allowing creators to protect their image and likeness.

According to Google, it relies on YouTube videos for AI training but says it only uses a subset of its 20 billion videos while honoring specific agreements with creators and media companies.

Creators Left in the Dark

Multiple leading creators and intellectual property professionals told CNBC they were unaware that their content could be used to train Google’s AI models. This revelation comes as Google recently unveiled Veo 3, an advanced AI video generator capable of producing cinematic-quality content.

A separate investigation by Proof News found that subtitles from 173,536 YouTube videos, sourced from over 48,000 channels, were utilized by tech firms including Anthropic, Nvidia, Apple, and Salesforce. Content from major creators like MrBeast and PewDiePie was included in this dataset.

No Opt-Out Option for Google’s Models

While YouTube allows creators to opt out of third-party AI training from companies like Amazon and Nvidia, users cannot prevent Google from using their content to train its own models. When uploading videos, users grant YouTube “a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable license” to use that content.

“It’s plausible that they’re taking data from a lot of creators that have spent a lot of time and energy and their own thought to put into these videos,” stated Luke Arrigoni, CEO of Loti, a company protecting digital identity for creators.

Growing Legal Challenges

The YouTube data usage controversy emerges amid increasing legal action in the creator space. David Millette recently filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging unauthorized use of video content for AI training. Similarly, over 10 artists have sued DeviantArt and several AI firms, claiming millions of user-uploaded artworks were improperly scraped to train AI image models without consent.

Disney and Universal filed a joint lawsuit against AI image generator Midjourney recently, marking the first such lawsuit from Hollywood studios.