🧠 AI From ByteDance Is Mass-“Stealing” Celebrities’ Faces
TikTok owner ByteDance has released a new version of its AI video generator, Seedance 2.0, and the launch has erupted into a major scandal.
Users have flooded platforms with clips showing Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt and Rocky Balboa having lunch with Optimus Prime, among many other deepfake mashups.
Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), called the service “large-scale unauthorized use of copyrighted works” and demanded that the company immediately stop violating U.S. law.
The SAG-AFTRA union, led by Sean Astin, accused ByteDance of gross ethical violations, with actors outraged that their voices and likenesses are being used without consent or compensation.
The Human Artistry Campaign branded Seedance 2.0 “an attack on every creator in the world,” stressing that AI-powered theft undermines culture itself.
The situation echoes the rollout of Sora 2 from OpenAI in the fall of 2025, when protests from Bryan Cranston and pressure from talent agencies pushed Sam Altman to reverse course and introduce an opt-in system for public figures. ByteDance, however, has so far shown little urgency about implementing comparable safeguards.
The clash has erupted at a highly sensitive moment: on Monday, Hollywood opened negotiations on a new 2026 labor contract, with AI regulation once again emerging as the number-one issue on the table.
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