The rise of the generative artificial intelligence on social networks like TikTok It has crossed a red line for major studios. Hyper-realistic videos created with AI are increasingly proliferating, reusing scenes, characters, and settings from hit series without asking permission from their owners.
In this context, Netflix has decided to make a bold move. And it has put ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok and is responsible for the AI-powered video generator, in the spotlight. Seedance 2.0, whom he accuses of exploiting his catalog without authorization with pieces that have gone viral worldwide, including in Spain and the rest of Europe.
According to the documentation sent by the platform, Seedance 2.0 would be creating and distributing clips based on some of its most recognized franchisesas the Stranger Things, The K-pop warriors, The Bridgertons o The Squid GameThese videos, which then circulate on TikTok and other apps controlled by ByteDance, recreate characters, scenes, and visual styles that are very recognizable to any subscriber.
What for many users are simply pieces of entertainment or AI-generated fan art, for the Los Gatos-based company represents a blatant violation of their intellectual property and a delicate precedent for the entire audiovisual sector, also in the European market, where copyright regulation is especially strict.
Netflix's offensive comes just days after the Motion Picture Association (MPA)The Association of American Copyright Holders (AAC), which represents the major Hollywood studios, had already demanded that ByteDance stop using copyrighted works to power its technology. This initial warning was triggered by the viral spread of AI videos showing, for example, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting on a rooftop, generated with a level of realism that has set off all legal alarms.
A cease and desist order with an ultimatum tone
In the letter sent by Netflix to ByteDance, the multinational streaming company presents a formal cease and desist request In the letter, dated February 17, he details his complaints. He makes it clear that the company has not granted any permission for its content to be used in Seedance 2.0 training or outings.
Mindy LeMoine, Netflix's head of litigation, argues that Chinese technology is carrying out “deliberate activities that constitute a direct and secondary infringement of copyright”In his opinion, using copyrighted works to create a competing commercial product—such as a video generator that "spits out" versions of existing series—cannot be protected under the doctrine of fair use.
The executive is particularly emphatic when she states that “Netflix has never authorized ByteDance to use our content” for these purposes and that the company he does not intend to sit idly by while their series are treated as if they were mere public domain clip art resources.
The tone of the letter suggests that if ByteDance doesn't back down, the next step will be legal action. To avoid that scenario, Netflix is ​​conditioning any truce on the implementation of a series of very specific and verifiable measures, with a margin for maneuver that the platform itself describes as very limited.
Meanwhile, Netflix's move is coordinated with similar actions by Warner Bros., Disney and Paramountwho have also voiced their complaints about the use of their catalogs in video generators without license agreements or financial compensation, something that particularly worries the European subsidiaries of these companies due to the EU legal framework.
Netflix's four major conditions for ByteDance
The core of the conflict revolves around four main requirements that Netflix is ​​proposing to ByteDance to halt, at least for now, a formal lawsuit. The first is the immediate cessation of generative production related to its catalogThe company is demanding the implementation of technical safeguards in Seedance 2.0 to prevent the generation of material reminiscent of characters, titles, or protected settings from its series and films.
Secondly, the platform requires remove from the training datasets All content owned by Netflix that it was incorporated without permission. This request directly addresses how these AI models are built: with large volumes of audiovisual material that, according to the company, comes in part from its catalog without any kind of license.
The third condition involves remove from all platforms under the ByteDance umbrella —including TikTok— videos already created with Seedance 2.0 that use or clearly evoke Netflix intellectual property. This isn't just about stopping new creations, but also about cleaning up what's already circulating and can continue to accumulate views and monetization.
The latest request goes a step further and involves Identify all violations committed to dateNetflix is ​​demanding a comprehensive accounting of all instances in which Seedance has produced content based on indications related to its series and films, as well as revoke access for business partners and API users that have used the tool to create unauthorized derivative works.
In practice, these demands force ByteDance to completely rethink how their AI interacts with external audiovisual propertiesIt also opens a complex debate about the extent to which platforms should audit and document the origin of the data they use to train their models and the use that third parties make of these technologies.
Three-day deadline and coordinated pressure from Hollywood
Netflix's letter not only details what ByteDance must do, but also whenThe company sets a within three business days to receive a formal response, a very short window considering the technical and legal dimension of the demands made.
That limited margin is interpreted in the industry as a true ultimatumIf TikTok's parent company does not commit in writing to implement the requested measures, legal action seems virtually guaranteed, which could lead to a landmark case on copyright and AI use with global implications, including European and Spanish jurisdictions.
Netflix's move is not an isolated one. Major studios such as Warner Bros., Disney, or Paramount They have simultaneously sent their own communications to ByteDance with very similar complaints about the use of their films and series. All of this is part of a broader offensive led by the Motion Picture Association, which has already called for... immediately cease the infringing activities associated with Seedance 2.0.
Among the examples that the studies have focused on are AI videos featuring stars like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt Digitally recreated in action scenes that have gone viral on TikTok, these videos, which have garnered millions of views, illustrate the extent to which technology is capable of imitating faces and acting styles without the participation or approval of the original performers.
In Europe, where the Copyright Directive and the future regulation of AI As EU regulations strengthen creators' rights, these types of practices could face even greater scrutiny. EU authorities have already warned of the need for transparency in training data and strict respect for intellectual property, something that cases like Seedance put to the test.
ByteDance's response and the precedent it sets for TikTok
Faced with mounting complaints, ByteDance has attempted to ease tensions with a public statement in which it assures that It is strengthening existing safeguards to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and image rights by users of their AI tools.
The Chinese company maintains that it works for to prevent Seedance 2.0 from becoming a channel for infringing copyrightHowever, she has not yet detailed whether she is willing to accept all the conditions set by Netflix and the other studios, nor how she plans to implement them in a verifiable way.
In the specific case of TikTok, one of the industry's biggest concerns is that these AI-generated videos are mixed with traditional contentThis makes it difficult for users to distinguish between official material and automated recreations, and can affect both brand reputation and revenue from licensing, broadcasting, and subscriptions.
For Netflix, the situation is especially sensitive because A large part of their strategy involves exploiting their franchises worldwide.From original versions to possible derivative works, licensed products, and adaptations, the fact that third parties can use their creative universe for commercial purposes without permission directly challenges that model.
The clash with ByteDance also comes at a time when Other platforms are beginning to close formal deals to integrate study content into AI projects, which further isolates practices that lack clear contracts and compensation frameworks for rights holders.
AI, copyright, and "textbook" agreements like the one between Disney and OpenAI
While Netflix and other Hollywood giants threaten lawsuits, Some technology companies are opting for the opposite approach.: the signing of alliances with content owners to avoid future conflicts and lay the foundations for responsible use of AI.
One of the most cited examples in the sector is the agreement between Disney and OpenAI to bring characters from the Disney universe to Sora, the AI ​​company's video generator. This agreement was presented as a way to set collaboration standards in which studios maintain control over how their creations are used and receive compensation for it.
This type of alliance makes it clear that Not all content integrations in AI systems have to be conflictive.The key lies in transparency, explicit consent, and in the parties precisely defining the limits of use and the distribution of benefits.
In contrast, the case of Seedance 2.0 illustrates The opposite scenario: massive use of works and characters without clear licenses, in which rights holders find out after the fact that their series or actors have become raw material for generating viral videos.
For the European and Spanish audiovisual industry, which has been advocating for fair compensation for the digital exploitation of its works for years, the move by Netflix and the other major studios against ByteDance could mark a turning point in how access to catalogs for training and feeding generative AI models is negotiated.
The open battle between Netflix and TikTok's parent company over the AI videos inspired by Stranger Things, Bridgerton, or Squid Game It has thus become a symbol of the tension between technological innovation and intellectual property protection. What at first glance appears to be a dispute between two giants of entertainment and social media actually points to a changing of the guard: either tech companies agree on clear rules and agreements with studios, or the courts—in the United States, Europe, and the rest of the world—will ultimately define the limits of how far artificial intelligence can go with other people's content.
