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Elton John Warns U.K. Government ‘We Will Not Back Down’ Over AI Bill at Billboard’s Global Power Players Event: Read His Full Speech

Elton John spoke at Billboard's Global Power Player event in London and called upon the British government to scrap its controversial AI bill.

Sir Elton John collected the Creators’ Champion Award at Billboard’s Global Power Players event in London on Wednesday (June 4) and used his speech to warn the U.K. government that “we will not back down” in relation to its controversial AI data bill. Joined by his manager and husband David Furnish, John was awarded the inaugural trophy by Billboard editor-in-chief Hannah Karp in recognition for standing up for the creative industry and calling for fair usage and protections for music rights holders in relation to AI models. As referenced in John’s speech, the Labour government’s data bill – which proposes an opt-out approach for rights holders, as opposed to the preferred opt-in strategy – has been voted down by the House of Lords for an unprecedented fifth time.

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