AI Protections Secured

SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify New Four-Year Contract with Strong AI Protections for Actors

Television and film actors in Los Angeles overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract with Hollywood studios and streaming companies, avoiding any repeat of the disruption caused by the 2023 actor and writer strikes. SAG-AFTRA members approved the deal by about 91% to 9%, with turnout around 19% of eligible voters. The contract includes protections governing the use of AI performers and digital replicas, requiring producers to demonstrate “significant additional value” beyond a live actor or an actor’s digital capture, which union leaders say will keep synthetic use limited. It also provides meaningful improvements in compensation and benefits, and includes a pathway to merge SAG-Producers and AFTRA retirement plans into a single pension system. While union leaders defended the pension merger, at least one pension merger opponent criticized it publicly, and the studio negotiating alliance praised the agreement and said it delivers gains for wages, health and pension, and streaming residuals. The deal follows a similar pattern to the Writers Guild’s recently approved contract, extending labor stability to a four-year cycle.

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