Senators Demand ByteDance Shut Down Seedance 2.0 AI Video App

Lawmakers say the AI tool poses a 'direct threat' to American intellectual property rights.

Mar. 17, 2026 at 11:21am

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U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch have sent a letter to ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, demanding they "immediately shut down" the Seedance 2.0 AI video generator app. The senators claim the app "poses a direct threat to the American intellectual property system" by allowing users to create content that infringes on copyrights and likenesses of artists, actors, and filmmakers without permission.

Why it matters

The letter reflects growing government concerns over AI companies training their apps on copyrighted materials without proper authorization. This issue has sparked a wider debate around the rights of creators and the responsibilities of tech firms developing AI-powered content generation tools.

The details

After ByteDance suspended the global rollout of Seedance 2.0 over the weekend, the two senators wrote that the company's pledge to "respect intellectual property rights" was merely a "delay tactic to continue to abuse the innovators and profit from their success." The lawmakers also cited specific examples of Seedance 2.0 generating content that infringed on copyrights, including an AI-created battle between Thanos and Superman, a rewritten ending to Stranger Things, and a fake fight scene between Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.

  • ByteDance suspended the global rollout of Seedance 2.0 over the weekend.

The players

ByteDance

The parent company of TikTok that developed the Seedance 2.0 AI video generator app.

Marsha Blackburn

A U.S. Senator who co-signed the letter demanding ByteDance shut down Seedance 2.0.

Peter Welch

A U.S. Senator who co-signed the letter demanding ByteDance shut down Seedance 2.0.

Motion Picture Association

The trade association that recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance over Seedance 2.0.

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What they’re saying

“Seedance 2.0 poses a direct threat to the American intellectual property system and, more broadly, to the constitutional rights and economic livelihoods of our creative community.”

— Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch, U.S. Senators

“Responsible global companies follow the law and respect core economic rights, including intellectual property and personal likeness protections.”

— Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch, U.S. Senators

“ByteDance's regard for American IP is part of a larger trend of artificial intelligence companies stealing protected work at the expensive of the creative community.”

— Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch, U.S. Senators

What’s next

Senators Blackburn and Welch have unveiled a partisan bill to help artists protect their intellectual property by allowing them to access the training records used for AI models, among other measures.

The takeaway

This case highlights the growing tension between the rapid development of AI-powered content creation tools and the need to protect the rights of artists, actors, and other creators whose work is being used without permission. Policymakers are grappling with how to balance innovation and intellectual property protections in the AI era.