tech
February 17, 2026
ByteDance backpedals after Seedance 2.0 turned Hollywood icons into AI “clip art”
Hollywood backlash puts spotlight on ByteDance’s sketchy launch of Seedance 2.0.
TL;DR
- ByteDance is adding safeguards to Seedance 2.0 after Hollywood studios accused it of infringing copyright by generating deepfakes of characters like Spider-Man and Darth Vader.
- Disney, Paramount Skydance, and SAG-AFTRA sent cease-and-desist letters and condemned the tool's release without prior safeguards, citing unauthorized use of intellectual property and actors' likenesses.
- Japan's AI minister launched a probe into ByteDance over copyright violations, with concerns echoed by industry groups like the Motion Picture Association.
- ByteDance stated it respects intellectual property and is strengthening safeguards, but some believe the controversial launch was a strategy to showcase technical capabilities.
- Actors and creators expressed fears that AI tools like Seedance 2.0 could replace human talent and devalue creative work, though some critics argue AI is an automation tool and not a replacement for fundamental skills.
- Questions remain about how Seedance 2.0 was trained, as ByteDance has not disclosed its training data sets.
Continue reading
the original article