Google Removes AI Disney Videos After Cease-and-Desist

Google has removed dozens of artificial intelligence-generated videos featuring Disney-owned characters from its YouTube platform following a cease-and-desist letter from Disney demanding their immediate takedown for copyright infringement.

The letter, sent on Wednesday, accused Google of exploiting Disney's intellectual property on a massive scale through its AI tools and services. Disney specifically identified videos on YouTube and YouTube Shorts that depicted characters including Mickey Mouse, Deadpool, and figures from Star Wars, The Simpsons, Frozen, Moana, Toy Story, Iron Man, Lilo & Stitch, Winnie the Pooh, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Many of these clips were created using Google's Veo AI video generation tool. As of Thursday, the flagged links redirected users to a notice stating the videos were no longer available due to a copyright claim by Disney.

In the letter, Disney not only requested the videos' removal but also demanded that Google implement technical safeguards in its AI systems to prevent the future generation of content featuring Disney characters. The studio further instructed Google to stop using its characters in...