Equity demands Fish Audio removes unauthorised AI voices - Equity
UK performers union Equity demands Fish Audio remove 22 unauthorized AI voice clones used without consent for text-to-speech services
- Incident date
- May 2024
- Target
- 22 Equity union members
The UK performers union Equity has initiated formal action against the AI platform Fish Audio following reports that the site hosted unauthorized voice clones of 22 union members. The performers discovered their voices being commercialized as AI models for text-to-speech applications without their permission, prompting the union to demand immediate removal of the content and full transparency regarding the processing of their biometric data.
What happened
On May 22, 2024, Equity Industrial Official Shannon Sailing issued a formal letter to Fish Audio after receiving multiple complaints from members whose voices were being utilized by the platform for audiobooks, chatbots, and social media content. The union asserts that these actions violate UK data protection and intellectual property laws, noting that a person's voice constitutes personal data when an individual is identifiable from it.
Equity has demanded that Fish Audio provide a full disclosure regarding how the underlying recordings and biometric data were processed, licensed, or transferred to third parties. The union is invoking rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, which grant individuals rights of access, erasure, and restriction of processing. Specifically, Equity has requested:
- The immediate removal of all unauthorized cloned voices and related datasets.
- Confirmation of the lawful basis used to process the recordings.
- Full disclosure of all third parties, affiliates, or licensees to whom the voice models or derivative AI data have been sold or transferred.
- Details regarding any international transfers of the performers' data.
Equity maintains that statutory rights under UK law override the platform's internal terms of service or privacy policies. As of the initial demand, the union had not received a reply from Fish Audio and has stated it will continue to pursue the cases on behalf of the 22 affected members, while expecting additional claimants to come forward.