ByteDance adjusts Seedance 2.0 amid copyright backlash
2026-02-26 16:58:00+08
Tokyo, February 26, 2026 – ByteDance Japan announced today that it has implemented service adjustments to its newly launched AI video generation model, Seedance 2.0, to strictly mitigate risks of intellectual property infringement.
The move follows intense scrutiny after the model was found capable of generating unauthorized videos featuring major copyrighted characters, including Disney properties and Japan’s iconic Ultraman. On February 24, Japanese Minister for Digital Transformation and AI Strategy Norimi Onoda stated in a press conference that the government had ordered the company to take corrective actions, warning that both operators and users could face legal liability or compensation claims.
Seedance 2.0, a flagship multimodal product from ByteDance, utilizes a unified audio-video architecture supporting deep fusion of text, images, audio, and video inputs. While praised for its advanced content reference and editing capabilities, the model quickly sparked a copyright crisis. Earlier this month, The Walt Disney Company sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging unauthorized use of its copyrighted works in the model’s training data and demanding an immediate halt to the infringement.
This incident underscores the growing tension between the pursuit of hyper-realistic generative AI and the boundaries of copyright protection. As high-capability models like Seedance 2.0 become widespread, robust data compliance and content filtering mechanisms are shifting from optional technical features to critical prerequisites for product survival.