US senators are demanding ByteDance immediately shut down its Seedance 2.0 AI video generator app, citing severe copyright infringement concerns. The demand follows the company's weekend suspension of the global rollout after widespread criticism over the app's use of unauthorized copyrighted material. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch wrote the app poses a direct threat to American intellectual property and the economic livelihoods of creative professionals.

They cited specific examples including an AI-generated Thanos vs Superman battle, a rewritten 'Stranger Things' ending, and a fake Tom Cruise vs Brad Pitt fight, all created without permission from the rights holders. While ByteDance claimed it respects intellectual property and is strengthening safeguards, the senators dismissed this as a 'delay tactic' to profit from stolen work, calling the company's regard for US IP 'part of a larger trend' of AI companies exploiting creative content. The Motion Picture Association has also sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance.

This pressure coincides with senators unveiling a partisan bill to help artists protect their IP by accessing AI training records.