AI Company Must Pay Royalties if it Uses Journalists' Works

JAKARTA - Artificial intelligence (AI) companies are required to pay royalties if they take journalistic works. Data and journalistic news should not be sucked in just like that without compensation in order to protect copyright and media.

Chairman of the Press Council Komaruddin Hidayat emphasized one thing firmly, namely that artificial intelligence technology companies alias AI should not arbitrarily quote or utilize journalistic works.

The statement was made by Komaruddin on the sidelines of the National Mass Media Convention, one of the main agendas of the 2026 National Press Day (HPN) commemoration, Sunday, February 8, quoted by Antara in Serang City, Banten.

"If AI takes journalistic works, yes, you have to pay royalties. If not, this is called robbery. The essence is that journalistic works must be protected," said Komaruddin.

He explained that the biggest challenge of the media industry today is the inequality between production costs and income, which is increasingly eroded by digital platforms. According to Komaruddin, coverage of investigative and high-quality news requires in-depth research, long time, and expensive costs.

"Journalists are tired of making news, but suddenly AI is sucked in without royalties, it's clearly unfair," he added.

Therefore, the Press Council encourages the strict implementation of publisher rights, so that the media can still get a decent compensation, while ensuring that the national press ecosystem can survive and develop.