‘Ping-pong’ refers to the to-ing and fro-ing of amendments to Bills between the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The Bill is approaching the final stages of its passage through Parliament and is currently undergoing “Consideration of Amendments”. This is the stage where the Lords and Commons exchange amendments and respond to each other’s decisions. If one House disagrees with the other’s changes, the Bill returns for further debate (ping-pong) until agreement is reached.

Crossbench Peer and former film producer, Baroness Beeban Kidron, has led on the amendments to add provisions to protecting copyright holders, particularly in the creative industries, from the unregulated use of their work in AI development.

Earlier this month, the Commons rejected the proposed amendments on the basis that their wording could require the government to spend public money enforcing transparency obligations on AI companies. In response, Baroness Kidron revised the amendment to address these concerns, removing specific enforcement requirements and replacing “must” with “may” to ensure the amendment no longer imposes a spending obligation.

On Monday 19 May 2025, the Lords voted in favour of Kidron’s amendments, resulting in a third government defeat over copyright protections. The revised amendments were debated amongst MPs on Thursday 22 May 2025, but were ultimately voted against, with the same reasoning relating to public spending.

The Government has stated that Data Bill is not the appropriate “legislative vehicle” to address these complex issues such as Baroness Kidron’s amendments, and future proposals will only be bought forward when they are fully considered and workable.

Despite this, celebrity artists have been vocal about their concerns with the Government’s decisions on AI and copyright. Sir Elton John said he’s felt “betrayed” over the Government’s plans to favour tech companies over rightsholders. Dua Lipa and Paul McCartney are also among those opposing the Governments decisions.

To discuss this issue in more detail, contact Eilidh Wilson, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, PPA (eilidh.wilson@ppa.co.uk)