Policy · Defamation & Media Law
Newsroom and publisher generative AI and synthetic media policy
A publisher policy on generative AI: approved tools, confidential material, permitted and prohibited uses, verification, labels for synthetic media, legal review triggers, copyright, privacy and records.
- Kind
- Policy. A policy or procedure for a firm or client.
- Where it applies
- Australia, European Union
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 17 October 2026 against the 9 authorities it cites, for Australia and European Union.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use for a news publisher, broadcaster, content studio or corporate communications team that uses or plans to use generative AI. Tailor the labels, tool register and review triggers; it does not replace the publisher's editorial code.
How AI may be used
AI may help adapt the policy to the publisher's tools and workflows; the prohibitions, labels and review triggers are editorial and legal decisions signed off by the publisher.
AI may
- Map the publisher's existing tools and workflows into the Schedule 1 register for review
- Turn the approved policy into training material and quick-reference guides
- Compare the draft with the publisher's editorial code and list inconsistencies
AI must not
- Must not decide which uses are permitted or prohibited, or the label wording
- Must not process confidential source material or unpublished investigations while adapting the policy
- Must not state that a tool is safe to approve without the tool terms being read by a person
The lawyer checks
- Each tool's terms on training, retention and output ownership are recorded before approval
- The privacy exemption conditions (public commitment to published privacy standards) are met
- The EU disclosure clause is included only where the publisher reaches EU audiences, and its dates are current
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Defamation & Media Law
- Concerns notice under the uniform Defamation Acts (with UK letter-of-claim and NZ variants)
- Offer to make amends in response to a concerns notice
- Pre-publication legal review checklist (including AI-generated text, images and quotes)
- Takedown demand for AI-generated deepfake or synthetic content (to poster or platform)
- Complaint notice to a digital intermediary (s 31A accessible complaints mechanism) with UK and US variants
All precedents for Defamation & Media Law · Tasks and AI use in this area