ByteDance reportedly pauses global launch of its Seedance 2.0 video generator

ByteDance has paused plans to launch its new AI video model globally, according to a report in The Information .

The Chinese company, best known as TikTok’s parent organization (and now a minority shareholder in its U.S. spinoff ), launched Seedance 2.0 in China back in February. Brief videos generated by the model, including a clip featuring Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt, soon went viral and drew intense criticism from Hollywood .

While one successful screenwriter declared that the footage meant, “It’s likely over for us,” studios quickly sent ByteDance a flurry of cease-and-desist letters, with Disney’s lawyers accusing the company of a “virtual smash-and-grab of Disney’s IP.” ByteDance responded by promising to introduce stronger safeguards for intellectual property.

The company had planned to make Seedance 2.0 available globally in mid-March, The Information said, but it’s delaying those plans as its engineers and lawyers work to avert further legal issues.

ByteDance did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

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