MPA Slams ByteDance AI Platform for Copyright Violations

A viral artificial intelligence-generated video depicting actors Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise engaged in a rooftop fight has sparked widespread concern over copyright infringement following the launch of a new AI video platform by ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok. The 15-second clip, which amassed over 1.2 million views on social media platform X, emerged just days after ByteDance released Seedance 2.0 on February 12, 2026.

The video, created with a simple two-line prompt by Irish filmmaker Ruairi Robinson, shows the two stars exchanging blows while referencing the release of Epstein files in their dialogue. Robinson shared the clip online, prompting mixed reactions, including a lighthearted defense where he questioned whether he should face backlash for merely typing the prompt and generating the content. Other videos produced using Seedance 2.0 have circulated online, featuring recreations of scenes from popular franchises such as Spider-Man, Titanic, Stranger Things, Lord of the Rings, Shrek, Avengers: Endgame, and Friends, often with altered elements like animal characters replacing human ones.

The Motion Picture Association, a trade group representing major...