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Regional organizing: We've launched city- and region-based WhatsApp/Signal groups for locally-driven organizing. Fill out this form and we'll add you to the right group.
Organizations:
– PPA (Professional Photographers of America): The world's largest nonprofit for photographers, currently running a nationwide "No Unlicensed AI Training" campaign pushing Congress to require mandatory licensing for AI training data. Also advocating for expansion of the Copyright Claims Board to handle AI-related infringements.
– ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers): Primary backer of the Visual Artists Copyright Reform Act (VACRA) and co-leader of the "No Artists, No Art" coalition demanding transparency in AI training datasets. Offers AI-ready contract templates to members through a specialized legal advisory council.
– NPPA (National Press Photographers Association): Leading the charge on photojournalism integrity standards, including banning AI-generated images from major competitions and advocating for AI-free editorial tools in newsrooms.
– AOP (Association of Photographers, UK): Successfully lobbied the UK government in 2026 to reverse its default opt-out proposal for AI scraping, pushing toward a model where AI companies must get permission before using images for training.
– European Visual Artists (EVA): Instrumental in the rollout of the EU AI Act's transparency requirements, ensuring photographers in Europe have a legal right to be removed from AI training sets.
– Copyright Alliance: A coalition of creators and creative industry organizations advocating for strong copyright protections in the age of AI. Works closely with PPA on letter-writing campaigns to Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office.
– Reporters Without Borders (RSF): International press freedom organization and lead author of the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism.
Journalism & AI Ethics: Paris Charter on AI and Journalism (Reporters Without Borders, 2023): A set of ten ethical principles for AI use in journalism, developed by RSF and 16 global journalism organizations. Broader than photography specifically, but directly relevant to the newsroom context in which most photojournalists work.
Technical Tools: Glaze & Nightshade (University of Chicago): Free tools that offer technical protection against AI training use. Glaze masks your artistic style to prevent AI from mimicking it. Nightshade poisons training data, degrading a model's accuracy when it scrapes protected images. Note that AI companies may develop workarounds over time — these tools are one layer of protection, not a complete solution.
Legislation:
— Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act (H.R. 7913): Would require AI companies to disclose which copyrighted works trained their models. Not yet passed, but has strong support from the creative community. congress.gov
— Visual Artists Copyright Reform Act (VACRA, 2025): Seeks to modernize copyright protections for the AI era. Backed by ASMP and other creative industry organizations. congress.gov
— U.S. Copyright Office AI Reports: The Copyright Office has released multiple reports studying the intersection of AI and copyright law. Essential reading for photographers navigating these issues. copyright.gov
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Explore resources on this site:
FAQs: Your Visual Colleagues put this together to answer the questions we hear most from photographers who have signed our statement — and those who are still deciding.
AI and Photojournalism: The introduction of AI into newsrooms puts truth, trust, and the safety of the people we photograph at risk. Here's why it matters.
AI and Commercial Photography: From ad campaigns to stock libraries, AI is displacing photographers and dismantling the client relationships that sustain commercial careers.
The WSJ Contract: Publications like The Wall Street Journal are rewriting the terms of freelance photography. Here's how we got here — and what the fine print actually means.
Understanding Your Contract: Three contract terms every photographer needs to know — and what to do if you find them in your agreement.
What You Can Do: Concrete steps photographers can take right now to protect their work, their archive, and the people they photograph.
Resources: Organizations, tools, and legislation for photographers navigating the age of AI.