As the entertainment industry continues to navigate the challenges posed by artificial intelligence, a new controversy has taken center stage. A group of talent agents is now calling for the adoption of blanket “No AI” clauses for all child actors.
Deadline recently reported that Hasbro, the owner of the Peppa Pig franchise, introduced contractual language requiring child voice actors to grant the company broad rights to use their voices with AI technology.
Hasbro is facing backlash over new contracts for child voice actors in Peppa Pig.
According to reports, the contracts would let the company create AI versions of the children’s voices and use them in the future.
This means AI could create new voice lines without the child… pic.twitter.com/sgKSzGolCG— Pirat_Nation 🔴 (@Pirat_Nation) June 26, 2026
While the specific terms of the clause remain unclear, many believe it could give Hasbro the right to create AI clones of the children’s voices for broader commercial use. Others have suggested that the language may be intended more narrowly, allowing the studio to generate or modify dialogue without requiring the young actors to return to the recording booth.
Peppa Pig – YouTube, KQED AMERICA
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However, reports that agents and actors are being presented with a “take it or leave it” ultimatum have raised concerns throughout the industry.
Child Talent Agents Push Back Against AI Clauses
Representatives of the Agents of Young Performers Association (AYPA), a UK-based professional network and members’ association representing talent agents who work with children and young performers, are pushing back.
The organization argues that children cannot meaningfully consent to the long-term commercial exploitation of their voices and likenesses through AI technology. Deadline reports that the group claims Peppa Pig is not the only property pressuring child actors to agree to AI usage provisions. Similar contracts, the organization says, “extend to image rights on modeling jobs.”
An open letter organized by the association has already attracted nearly 2,000 signatures from actors, agents, casting professionals, and other entertainment industry figures. The letter calls for complete exemptions from AI usage provisions in agreements involving child performers.
Peppa Pig – Peppa Pig – Official Channel, YouTube
“Any agreement involving a child’s voice should be fully exempt from all AI usage,” the letter states. It further argues that no child’s future professional identity should be shaped by AI systems before they are old enough to understand the potential consequences of such decisions.
Neither Hasbro nor Peppa Pig is directly mentioned in the open letter calling for exemptions from AI usage provisions for child actors. However, the timing of its publication strongly suggests that it was prompted by the controversy.
Hasbro Responds to the Growing Backlash
After news of the Peppa Pig contracts broke, Hasbro said in a statement, “Hasbro is aware of the open letter circulating regarding AI clauses in children’s performance contracts. We are not able to comment on specific negotiations or contractual arrangements.”
The company went on to acknowledge the changing digital landscape. “The protection of child performers is core to who Hasbro is, it’s part of our DNA. As industry standards around AI continue to evolve, we are committed to engaging with this issue in a responsible and transparent manner.”
Characters from Peppa Pig – Peppa Pig – Official Channel, YouTube
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AYPA co-chair Sarah MacDonnell argues that the situation is not complex.
“It shouldn’t even be a matter of discussion,” she said. “Every single agent is fighting for a non-AI clause to be added to contracts that come in, and it’s a huge fight.”
From her perspective, child voice actors signing over their rights to be used by AI can have long-term consequences.
“It’s about [stopping] part of a child’s identity being taken from them and put into a system. And then where has it gone?” she added. “What control do we have over where and how that voice is used?”
The Debate Over Child Performers and AI Is Just Beginning
Whether studios ultimately embrace blanket “No AI” clauses for child actors remains uncertain. What appears increasingly clear, however, is that many agents, performers, and families are no longer willing to treat children’s voices as just another asset that can be licensed away indefinitely.
Do you support a no AI clause for child actors? Let us know in the comments!
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