Hasbro is facing backlash over its reported introduction of a new artificial intelligence clause in contracts for child actors on its beloved children’s animated show, Peppa Pig.
The American toy conglomerate, which acquired the rights to the Peppa Pig brand in 2019, is asking young actors of the hit British children’s series to sign over their voices to AI, according to Deadline.
While AI clauses are becoming increasingly common in acting contracts, Hasbro’s embrace of the technology has sparked major concern among industry professionals.
An open letter organized by the Agents of Young Performers Association, condemning AI terms in children’s contracts on an “international children’s franchise” owned by a “major studio,” has already garnered nearly 1,000 signatories.
The letter does not directly name Peppa Pig or Hasbro, and per Deadline, AYPA declined to identify the series. However, sources told the outlet that the letter is in reference to the company’s popular long-running cartoon.
The Independent has contacted AYPA for comment.
“Most recently, a major studio who owns the IP for an international children’s franchise producing a long running animated television series has offered contracts to child voice actors insisting that they agree to the use of AI thus allowing them to use the child’s voice in all commercial assets within their franchise,” the letter reads.
“The refusal to remove this clause with an attitude of ‘take it or leave it’ has led us write this letter to make it clear that this will not be accepted and to bring this matter to the attention of the wider industry.”
It warns that “where the performer is a child, consent must be treated with the greatest of care” as “children cannot provide fully informed legal consent and a parent or guardian’s approval should never be used as a blanket license to capture, clone, train, or reuse a child’s voice indefinitely.”
“Any agreement involving a child’s voice should be fully exempt from all AI usage. No child should have their future professional identity shaped by an AI model created before they were old enough to understand its consequences,” it concludes. “We reject all contracts that require child performers to surrender voice rights indefinitely and without limits.”
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In a statement to The Independent, Hasbro said it was “aware of the open letter circulating regarding AI clauses in children’s performance contracts.”
“We are not able to comment on specific negotiations or contractual arrangements,” the statement added. “The protection of child performers is core to who Hasbro is; it’s part of our DNA. As industry standards around AI continue to evolve, we are committed to engaging with this issue in a responsible and transparent manner.”
Peppa Pig, which follows the adventures of a family of pigs living in a town made up of other animals, first debuted in the U.K. in 2004 before premiering in the U.S. the following year.
The ongoing series became an international smash hit in the 2010s when it was picked up by Nickelodeon in 2011. The entire Peppa Pig brand was later bought by Hasbro in 2019 in a lucrative $4 billion deal.
