The UK actors' union Equity has moved to ballot its members on whether to take industrial action over on-set digital scanning used to create likenesses for artificial intelligence, signalling rising tensions with the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (Pact) as talks over a new pay and conditions agreement continue. The ballot, held from December 4 to December 18, asks performers if they are prepared to refuse digital scanning to secure binding protections on the use of their images, voices and performances in AI systems. [4]
Equity said its core grievance remains that Pact has not secured firm guarantees preventing producers from using performers' data to train AI models beyond the needs of a specific production. According to the original report, the union told members that a lack of clarity and enforceable limitations left performers exposed to unconsented reuse of their likenesses and to the creation of synthetic performers. [1][4]
The move follows months of mounting pressure within the profession. In June 2025 nearly 1,500 actors signed an open letter organised by Equity urging Pact to prioritise AI protections; signatories included prominent performers such as Tamsin Greig, Alan Davies, Emma D'Arcy, Nicola Walker and Wilf Scolding. The letter said thousands of UK actors had been digitally scanned on set without informed consent and demanded transparency over how performances, likenesses and personal data are recorded, stored and processed. Industry lobbying and high-profile signatories amplified the union's bargaining position as it returned to negotiations with producers. [2][3]
Equity has also circulated practical guidance to members on how to protect their digital likenesses, advising performers to ask detailed questions about AI use, to limit scanning to production-specific purposes, to negotiate clauses excluding AI-related reuse, to refuse on-set signature of consent forms and to insist on deletion of scans once they are no longer required. The union frames these steps as essential short-term safeguards while it seeks contractual and industry-wide protections. [5]
The dispute in the UK echoes regulatory and bargaining developments elsewhere. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom signed laws in September 2024 requiring clear contractual terms and professional representation for deals involving AI-generated images or voices, and banning commercial use of digital replicas of deceased performers without estate consent. And in July 2025, SAG-AFTRA reached a deal with major video-game studios that included consent and disclosure requirements for AI digital replicas, illustrating one path by which unions and employers have locked in protections. Equity and its members point to those precedents as evidence both of the practicability of enforceable safeguards and of growing international expectations around consent and transparency. [6][7]
Pact has said it is negotiating with Equity on a new minimum-terms agreement covering pay, terms and conditions for actors, dancers and stunt performers; the producer body argues that technological practices on shoots vary widely and that negotiators must balance operational realities with performers' concerns. According to the original report, however, Equity maintains that without explicit, enforceable limits on how likeness data is used and retained, performers have little reason to agree to be digitally scanned in the first place: “So it is disappointing that Pact is still not agreeing to protect our members when it comes to training AI. If bosses can’t ensure someone’s likeness and work won’t be used without their consent, why should performers consent to be digitally scanned in the first place?” [1]
If the ballot returns a mandate for action, Equity says members could refuse to undergo digital scanning as a targeted form of industrial resistance while broader negotiations continue. The union presents that option as a means to force binding contractual language on AI use rather than rely on voluntary producer policies. Industry data and recent agreements abroad suggest the issue is now central to labour talks across entertainment sectors, with unions pressing for consent, disclosure, restricted retention and explicit limits on training and commercial reuse of AI-generated replicas. [4][7][6]
##Reference Map:
- [1] (Evening Standard) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 6
- [2] (Equity) - Paragraph 3
- [3] (Visive.ai summary of Equity open letter) - Paragraph 3
- [4] (Evening Standard , December 2025 report) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 7
- [5] (Equity AI toolkit) - Paragraph 4
- [6] (Reuters , California legislation) - Paragraph 5, Paragraph 7
- [7] (Reuters , SAG-AFTRA video game agreement) - Paragraph 5, Paragraph 7
Source: Noah Wire Services