Dutch far-right party pays damages to court artist after changing image with AI - The Guardian

In May 2024, a Dutch court artist named Petra Urban received damages after a member of parliament from the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) manipulated her original artwork using artificial intelligence. The incident highlights growing concerns regarding the intersection of copyright law, artistic integrity, and the unauthorized use of AI to alter journalistic materials.

What happened

Petra Urban, a court artist with 19 years of experience, discovered that a sketch she had created of two Syrian brothers had been altered without her permission. The PVV’s Noord-Brabant region had used the image in a video posted to Instagram and Facebook, utilizing AI to distort the subjects of the drawing to make them appear more menacing.

Urban expressed three primary concerns: the lack of permission, the compromise of her professional neutrality, and the specific use of AI to distort her work. Under Dutch law, creators possess moral rights that allow them to object to the distortion of their work if it could harm their reputation. Following a legal demand issued by Urban’s union for licensing rights and damages, PVV MP Maikel Boon contacted Urban to apologize. Boon, who had previously been accused of using AI for campaign purposes, publicly accepted responsibility and characterized his actions as a "very stupid act," noting he had mistakenly believed that altering the image would bypass copyright protections. The video was subsequently removed from the internet, and the PVV reached a settlement with Urban for an undisclosed amount of damages. Urban emphasized that the incident serves as a warning about the risks of manipulating journalistic content, stating, "If this is manipulated, then the flood gates are open."