German voice actors have been boycotting the Netflix streaming service for a few weeks now due to a controversial new AI clause – and are now even receiving support from a legal opinion. We summarize.
Legal concerns
There was a huge outcry in the industry when several voice actors reported that Netflix had presented them with a new contract and made the signing a condition for further collaboration.
The contract contains an AI regulation that enables the VoD provider to use the voice recordings of the voice actors to train an artificial intelligence without further compensation.
In the meantime, the Association of German Speakers (VDS) has not only published the controversial letter partially redacted, but also commissioned the German law firm Spirit Legal to prepare a legal report.
Legal opinion
The report strongly advises the voice actors not to sign the contract. This is justified with the following points:
- Copyright and personal rights: The regulation on AI training is legally ineffective because there is no clearly defined type of use. In practice, protective clauses for voice copies and digital processing offer little protection. Netflix receives rights for 50 years without additional payment.
- Data protection law: Consent to data processing does not fulfill the GDPR because AI training is not expressly mentioned as a purpose. Speakers can only accept or reject consent in its entirety. Once used, voting data can hardly be deleted – the right of withdrawal remains practically ineffective.
- Contract law: Several contractual clauses are unlikely to stand up to a general terms and conditions review, such as the waiver of mandatory information rights, the exclusion of interim measures and a flat-rate remuneration. An arbitration clause transfers disputes to a confidential procedure with no public effect.
The 19-page document can be found on the VDS website. According to the association, signing the contract would create the legal framework for a possible later replacement of the voice actors.
After all, Netflix and Prime Video have already registered patents for systems that can automatically create lip-synchronized translations from audio and video data – without any dubbing actors in the studio.
Letter from Netflix
It is currently unclear how many voice actors have joined the boycott. Apparently the pressure is great enough to get Netflix to react.
In a letter to the voice actors involved, the existence of which Netflix confirmed to the Reuters news agency, the company said that the concerns expressed were based on a misunderstanding.
We assure you that no digital reproduction or artificially generated voice will be created based on the data collected without express consent.
In addition, Netflix pointed out that a continued boycott could negatively impact production times and willingness to invest. This could mean that new titles in Germany would initially only be published with German subtitles and without a corresponding dubbed version.
In order to find a solution to the problem, the VDS was invited to an informal discussion, as VDS chairwoman Anna-Sophia Lumpe confirmed to Bayerischer Rundfunk. However, a date is still open.
More on the topic:
Via VDS, Reuters, Bayrischer Rundfunk
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