U. S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Peter Welch (D-VT) have sharply criticized ByteDance for contributing to the AI industry’s pattern of infringing on creative works. In a letter to ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo, they demanded the immediate shutdown of ByteDance’s video generation platform, Seedance 2. 0, calling the company's promises to respect copyright “a delay tactic. ” This aligns with growing concerns from copyright advocates about widespread infringement by users of Seedance and similar generative AI tools. The senators highlighted that within 24 hours of Seedance 2. 0’s launch on February 12, numerous unauthorized videos featuring famous characters and scenes from franchises like Stranger Things, Marvel, and DC Comics amassed millions of views, openly celebrating the theft of American creative content. A Seedance user even claimed it cost only nine cents to replicate the most expensive shot from the upcoming 2025 film F1. By releasing Seedance 2. 0 without obtaining licenses for training materials or outputs, ByteDance has exhibited intent to violate U. S. intellectual property laws. Seedance 2. 0 has faced stern opposition from the creative industry. On launch day, Motion Pictures Association CEO Charles Rivkin called for ByteDance to halt all infringing activities via the platform.

The following day, Disney issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding that Seedance stop producing unauthorized videos featuring characters from Star Wars, Spider-Man, and Family Guy. In response to mounting criticism, ByteDance claims to have strengthened safeguards against IP infringement; however, Senators Blackburn and Welch expressed skepticism, emphasizing ByteDance's role in perpetuating the AI sector’s infringement problem. Their criticism reflects broader concerns about China’s history of copyright violations, as noted in the U. S. Trade Representative’s 2025 Priority Watch List. Notably, two days before the senators’ letter, ByteDance reportedly paused the global rollout of Seedance 2. 0 amid legal copyright disputes. This parallels actions taken by OpenAI, which last October revised its Sora 2 video app’s rights model from opt-out to opt-in, requiring authorization before generating content using third-party IP. This letter is part of ongoing bipartisan efforts by Senators Blackburn and Welch on copyright issues. In August, they co-sponsored the TRAIN Act to enable copyright owners to subpoena data on AI training use of their works. In December, they also co-sponsored the Visual Artists Copyright Reform Act of 2025, aimed at simplifying registration for various visual art forms.