UK Actors Push for AI Protections as Equity and PACT Reach Negotiation Breakthrough

UK performers secured a breakthrough in AI protection negotiations on January 20, 2026, when PACT (the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television) delivered an improved offer to Equity after months of dispute. The progress came just one day after a union imposed deadline and followed an overwhelming December 2025 ballot in which 99% of over 7,000 Equity members voted they were prepared to refuse digital scanning on set.

The negotiations mark the first time AI protections have been formally negotiated in UK film and television contracts. Both sides agreed to enter further negotiations in good faith, but Equity General Secretary Paul W. Fleming made clear the fight isn't over. "It doesn't cover everything we've asked for, and the coming weeks will be instrumental in securing the protections performers need in the age of AI and scanning on set."

The Timeline: How UK Performers Forced Action

The current dispute has been building for months as AI capabilities in film production expanded rapidly. In December 2025, Equity held an indicative ballot asking over 7,000 performers working in UK film and television a direct question. Would they be willing to refuse digital scanning on set to secure stronger AI protections?

The result was decisive. With a turnout of 75%, an overwhelming 99% voted YES. This gave Equity's negotiating team a powerful mandate heading into talks with PACT, which represents producers covering the vast majority of UK film and TV work.

Equity set a deadline of Monday, January 19, 2026, for PACT to deliver an improved offer on AI protections. The union had been clear about consequences. Without meaningful progress, members would move to refuse scanning on upcoming productions, a form of industrial action that could disrupt shoots across the UK.

PACT met the deadline late on January 19, sending over new wording with improvements on AI protections that had been in dispute. The following day, Tuesday, January 20, both sides met to discuss the revised offer. While neither party disclosed specific terms, the meeting resulted in an agreement to continue negotiations across multiple issues including AI protections, royalties and residuals, pay, self tapes, and fairer contracts.

What's at Stake: Understanding Digital Scanning

Digital scanning is not new to film production. For years, visual effects teams have captured actors' likenesses to create digital doubles for stunts, effects that make actors appear younger, or scenes requiring extensive CGI. The process typically involves photographing or scanning an actor from multiple angles to create a detailed 3D model.

What changed is how that data can now be used. Generative AI systems can take scanned likenesses, voices, and biometric data to create entirely new performances without the actor being present. An actor scanned for a single day of VFX work could potentially have their likeness used to generate scenes, dialogue, or even entire performances they never consented to or were compensated for.

Fleming articulated the core concern in previous statements. "It is a basic right of performers to have autonomy over their own personhood and identity." The union argues that scanning, when combined with AI capabilities, transforms what was once a limited technical tool into something that could fundamentally alter how performers work and are compensated.

PACT's position, documented in trade publications, has emphasized that scanning is an established practice necessary for modern filmmaking. Producers argue they already adhere to data protection laws and that some of Equity's demands represent future protections that extend beyond established safeguards.

The Improved Offer: Progress and Limitations

Fleming's statement on January 21 carefully balanced acknowledgment of progress with a clear message that negotiations are far from complete. "Equity members should be in no doubt that it is their support and determination to secure AI protections which led to this improved offer. Last month's ballot result showed that an overwhelming majority of performers are prepared to refuse scanning on set, and that focused the minds of producers."

The union has not disclosed specific terms of the improved offer, maintaining its negotiating position as talks continue. However, Fleming's public comments indicate the offer addresses some, but not all, of Equity's concerns about AI protections.

The scope of ongoing negotiations extends beyond just AI. The talks now encompass a broader package including royalties and residuals, base pay rates, self tape audition standards, and general contract fairness. This suggests both sides see an opportunity to address multiple longstanding issues in one agreement rather than isolated AI protections.

The threat of escalation remains real. Fleming stated clearly that if the current offer proves insufficient and PACT refuses to provide needed protections, "we are prepared to move to a statutory ballot of members with the intention to undertake industrial action on upcoming productions." A statutory ballot would be the formal legal step required before an actual strike, as opposed to the December indicative ballot which measured member sentiment.

UK Performers in the Global AI Battle

The negotiations between Equity and PACT are playing out against a backdrop of global labor disputes over AI in entertainment. In 2023, SAG-AFTRA's 118 day strike in the United States centered heavily on AI protections alongside streaming residuals. The eventual agreement included provisions on digital replica usage, consent requirements, and compensation for performances created using AI.

UK performers watched those negotiations closely. The SAG-AFTRA deal established a framework, but US and UK labor law, industry structure, and existing contracts differ significantly. Equity cannot simply import the American agreement. The union must negotiate protections that work within the UK legal framework and the specific structure of the agreement with PACT.

That agreement underpins working conditions for the vast majority of UK film and TV performers, including actors, stunt artists, singers, and dancers. It sets minimum pay rates, working conditions, and now, potentially, the first formal AI protections in UK entertainment contracts. The precedent being set will likely influence negotiations in other UK creative sectors facing similar AI challenges.

The timing is significant. AI capabilities in film production are advancing rapidly. Tools for voice cloning, face replacement, and performance synthesis that seemed experimental two years ago are now commercially available. Industry observers note that delaying these protections would only make the situation more complex as AI becomes more deeply embedded in production workflows. The European Parliament reinforced this urgency in March 2026 with a vote calling for mandatory transparency and fair compensation from AI companies that train on copyrighted material. See EU Lawmakers Vote to Protect Copyright in the Age of AI for the full scope of the EU proposal.

Producer Perspective: Balancing Innovation and Rights

PACT's position throughout negotiations reflects the tension producers face between technological innovation and worker protections. The organization represents companies ranging from small independent producers to major studios operating in the UK. Their concerns include maintaining production flexibility, avoiding overly restrictive language that could hinder legitimate VFX work, and ensuring UK productions remain competitive internationally.

Industry sources familiar with producer concerns, though speaking anonymously due to ongoing negotiations, note several practical challenges. Modern filmmaking increasingly relies on digital tools. A scene might require scanning an actor for safety reasons during a stunt, for costume fitting in virtual production, or for archive purposes if reshoots become necessary. Producers argue they need clear, workable language that protects performers without making standard production practices legally risky.

The question of compensation particularly complicates negotiations. If an actor is scanned for a specific VFX sequence but that scan enables the production to avoid a reshoot months later, does that require additional payment? What about archival scans that might never be used? These practical questions don't have easy answers, and the agreement must address them clearly enough that both performers and producers understand their rights and obligations.

PACT meeting the January 19 deadline with improved wording suggests producers recognize the strength of Equity's position. A 99% YES vote is extraordinary in labor organizing. Work disruptions on UK productions would be costly, both financially and reputationally. The good faith negotiations indicate both sides prefer reaching an agreement over escalating to industrial action.

What Happens Next

The current negotiation phase has no publicly announced end date. Both Equity and PACT have committed to good faith discussions, suggesting a willingness to continue working toward agreement rather than forcing a crisis. However, the union retains the option to call a statutory ballot if negotiations stall or the final offer proves inadequate.

Fleming's public statements suggest Equity is approaching these talks with clear eyes. The union secured an improved offer through member solidarity and the credible threat of action. Maintaining that pressure while negotiating details will be essential to securing protections that actually work in practice, not just on paper.

For UK performers, the coming weeks will determine whether their industry establishes meaningful AI protections or whether the rapid advancement of technology outpaces labor safeguards. The 99% ballot result shows they're willing to fight for those protections. Whether producers will meet them with an agreement that respects performer autonomy over their own likeness and identity remains to be seen.

The negotiations are being watched closely across the entertainment industry. Other unions, in the UK and internationally, are grappling with similar AI challenges. The framework that emerges from these talks could provide a model, or serve as a cautionary tale. Either way, the precedent being set matters far beyond the immediate parties at the negotiating table.

What the Equity-PACT Agreement Did Not Cover

The January 2026 breakthrough addressed AI protections within the industrial contract between Equity members and PACT producers. That agreement governs the relationship between performers and production companies. It does not govern how AI systems outside that specific relationship may use a performer's voice.

A performer covered by the Equity-PACT agreement has contractual protections against a PACT member company using their digital scan or voice replica without consent. They have no equivalent protection under UK statute if a different entity, outside the scope of that agreement, clones their voice. The contract is a ceiling on what PACT producers can do. It is not a floor that applies across the UK voice technology market.

That gap became more visible in August 2026 when Save Our Voices Now launched with over 80 signatories including Nicola Coughlan and Hugh Bonneville, calling on Parliament to introduce a statutory right over voice. The campaign's central argument is that contractual protections, however meaningful within the union context, cannot substitute for statutory protection that applies regardless of whether a performer is in a union production.

The gap also applies to performers who are Equity members but whose voices are cloned by entities outside the UK production industry entirely. A tool that clones a performer's voice and deploys it in a context that falls outside any union agreement, such as a foreign production, an AI product company, or a consumer application, is not bound by anything the Equity-PACT negotiations produce.

The Equity-PACT negotiations and the Save Our Voices Now petition are two parts of the same response to the same problem. Equity is securing protections within the contracts it negotiates. Save Our Voices Now is asking Parliament to extend comparable protection to everyone, regardless of whether they are covered by a union agreement. The contract layer and the statutory layer address different populations of performers and different categories of risk.

The two efforts are not in competition. A statutory framework that gives all UK individuals a right over their voices strengthens the position of Equity members in future negotiations by establishing a baseline that no production contract can fall below. A union agreement that already enforces consent and compensation standards gives Parliament evidence that statutory protection is workable in practice. Each strengthens the other.

The Equity-PACT negotiations of January 2026 were the first formal AI protection negotiations in UK film and television contracts. The Save Our Voices Now petition launched in August 2026, eight months later, at a point when the industrial negotiations had established a working model for what consent and compensation could look like. The sequence matters. The union contract created a template. The petition is asking Parliament to make that template universal.

The January 2026 negotiations were the first of their kind in UK film and television. They were watched by unions and producers in multiple sectors outside film and television. Audio production, gaming, advertising, and podcast production all involve voice work where AI cloning raises comparable questions. The Equity-PACT agreement established that consent and compensation are negotiable as formal contract terms.

That precedent did not exist in UK film and television before January 2026. The Equity-PACT framework addresses the film and television sector directly. A parliamentary statute would address the broader population of voice professionals and the general public.

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Official Sources

Equity (UK Performers' Union): Equity welcomes improved offer in AI protection negotiations in film and TV (January 21, 2026)

Sky News: Actors' union offered better deal over AI protections (January 21, 2026)

Wiggin LLP: AI in Film and TV: Equity warns of industrial action (January 19, 2026)

C21 Media: Equity gives update on AI dispute with Pact as potential actors strike looms (January 8, 2026)

Equity: Indicative ballot for AI protections (December 2025)