PA House Communications & Technology Committee unanimously approves measure calling on Congress to protect creative sector workers against displacement by AI
Rep. Kristine C. Howard April 24, 2025 | 4:25 PM
HARRISBURG, April 24 –The newly formed PA House Communications & Technology Committee, in its first voting meeting today, unanimously approved a resolution (H.R. 81) that would call on Congress to amend the copyright law to clarify that works generated by machine are not copyrightable, according to the committee’s majority chair, state Rep. Joe Ciresi.
The resolution, sponsored by state Rep. Kristine Howard, D-Chester, would urge the U.S. Congress to provide protections for workers in the creative sector against displacement by artificial intelligence, or AI, technology. This includes making changes to U.S. copyright law to emphasize the importance of human authorship and to act against “data scraping,” or feeding copyrighted data into AI programs for training purposes without the author’s or creator’s permission.
“Precious little has been done to address the myriad issues raised by the rapid development and adoption of a technology that is radically altering our society, our daily lives,” Howard said. “With every passing day, more companies are building businesses upon AI generated content, and they desperately need clarification regarding rights and potential liabilities.”
“This was a great first meeting where we addressed a critical issue that will be a focus of the committee’s work: the institution of responsible protections for workers and consumers from AI while still encouraging innovation in emerging technologies,” Ciresi said. “I’m looking forward to advancing legislation that enhances cybersecurity at all levels of government and promotes the use of technology to improve transparency and effectiveness in government operations.”