© Kyle T. Webster member since 2020
July 25, 2025
ASCRL has endorsed S.5379 – TRAIN Act, the Transparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks Act, introduced by Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Josh Hawley (R-MO). The bipartisan bill promotes transparency in AI training by providing copyright holders a means to access the training records of generative AI companies. By establishing an administrative subpoena process requiring generative AI companies to disclose their training data, the TRAIN Act permits copyright holders to ascertain whether their works were used.
ASCRL joins several other creators’ organizations in supporting the bill. In our letter of endorsement, we wrote “The American Society for Collective Rights Licensing (ASCRL), the largest photography and illustration organization in the United States, whose constituents include over 40,000 photographers and over 17,000 illustrator members, thanks Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) for introducing the Transparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks (TRAIN) Act. The bill seeks to promote transparency concerning unauthorized uses of copyrighted works by generative AI systems through the creation of a new administrative subpoena process. ASCRL was established by and for authors and looks forward to working with Senator Welch to add another tool in the toolbelt for authors to protect their rights in this very challenging, new technological environment.”