A Maltese filmmaker has raised the issue of actors and extras having their likenesses scanned by production companies at the European Parliament.
In 2023, extras appearing in Gladiator 2 expressed their concern after being asked to have their likeness scanned in a camera-filled booth. They were also asked to sign a release form for Maltese film production company Latina Pictures Limited.
On Thursday, Matthew Maggi, a filmmaker and co-founder of the Alliance for Practitioners, Artists and Crew for Hollywood Abroad (APACHA), told MEPs at the European Parliament's Petitions Committee that film studios were using AI technology to reduce the number of workers required on set.
"They are taking actors' likenesses and scanning them so they can create digital replicas. This is not just happening to actors but also to regular people who are working as extras. It's not fair that they have no control over how their images are used in the future. At least they need to know the conditions they are signing up for," he said, noting that the contracts that extras signed were often hard to understand.
Maggi continued that the US had more robust laws that safeguarded the rights of workers in the film sector.
He recalled that the office of the information and data protection commissioner in Malta opened an investigation into the concerns surrounding Gladiator 2, but hit a brick wall because it found that the company that ultimately controlled the gathered data was British and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
"If these companies close down, where does the data go? What are the limits on its use? We've heard of cases of people having their identities stolen," Maggi said.
"It's not right that we're allowing our film industry in Europe to be abused in this way. Artists are being put out of work and regular people exploited. We don't want to lose our jobs or our digital identities," he concluded.
Maggi was invited to speak to the committee by PN MEP Peter Agius. Addressing the committee, he highlighted the need to protect creative professionals.
"We must be at the forefront of innovation, but we can't forsake worker and artistic rights," he said.
The MEP asked the European Commission to properly investigate the application of GDPR rules and the recently introduced AI Act to employment contracts in the industry.
"It’s pointless having laws that aren’t implemented," he said.
Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba echoed Agius's words, saying the EU should make sure citizens' data is protected even when it is used outside the union.
"We need to ensure that our authorities are given the help they need to make sure artists’ rights are protected in these new digital realities," he said.