OK THE AI TRAINS ON YOUR CODE NOT ART SO UH WHATEVER I GUESS. go away generaative ai users — TLDR SCRATCH IS USING YOUR PROJECTS IN THE TRAINING OF AI MODELS. AGREEMENT TO TOS AGREES THAT YOUR PROJECTS CAN BE USED FOR AI TRAINING AND BE GIVEN TO THIRD PARTIES. YOUR CONTENT MAY BE ANALYZED BY AI. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP POSTING, IT IS ADVISED TO USE A LARGE WATERMARK. Click to go next The screenshots in here are from the scratch terms of service https://mitscratch.freshdesk.com/en/support/solutions/articles/4000219182-scratch-terms-of-service the content in this project refers to their new ToS updated on January 22nd, 2026, [THE DATE IM SHARING THIS PROJECT] There was no mention of the topics I will be talking about in any previous terms of services before this date Basically, I got this message out of nowhere to agree to the terms and services and I'm a weirdo who likes to read the terms and services For artists and content creators out there, are you aware about this point in the tos? [Highlighted in red] They use a lot of fancy weird words so let me break it down for you ● What scratch is saying: - posting ANY user content [whether it be text, forums, images, etc] grants scratch the right to use it for AI training and for third parties to use it for the same purposes, which is EXPLICITLY written right here in their general ToS ● What this means [for me/you as a user]: - normal things we post on scratch can be used legally by scratch/affiliates to train AI, even if it isn't intended to be used that way - agreement to the Terms of Service means we've agreed and that scratch doesn't have to ask for permission again to use the stuff we post - no opt-out, so the only way to avoid it is to not post - scratch can use our content in AI models that could be commercialized or shared with others ● Why did this stand out to me/why do i find it weird?: - explicitly written into the main general posting thing abt licenses, and not separately (AI stuff is usually handled separately or not mentioned at all) - NO OPT OUT; the license we've agreed to is perpetual (endless/forever) and irrevocable (irreversible, final). Most companies that use user based stuff to train models give consent, opt-out, or tell us that use of AI is limited or specific, and there is NONE OF THAT HERE. - commercial AI use? It's not just for "improving the site", but it allows commercial usage? - scratch is a EDUCATIONAL/kid based site, so I find it weird that they include AI training in the main license without an opt-out, basically giving them a lot of freedom and right to do stuff with our user based content. ● How does this affect me/artists/content creators?: - no opt out, my stuff can be used to train AI anytime - perpetual and irrevocable license; even if I unshare or take down my stuff, they may still have the right to use it for AI content - my content could be copied, analyzed, or included in datasets that generate new AI art without permission or knowledge for potential COMMERICAL AI models, not just for internal research or testing - control over my own art is limited, and my content/art could be contributing to AI models, which I AM AGAINST AS A REAL ARTIST. Honestly most of this is legal stuff, but it's a bit weird and I'm not happy about how there isn't an opt-out or notification that my stuff can be used to train ai. What do you guys think of this? If you're looking for ways to protect your stuff against AI training [because honestly, we don't even know WHAT they're using and how much of it they're feeding to their AI stuff] - don't post stuff you don't want in the ai. It sucks, but scratch started it. - write something along the lines of "no ai art training", "do not reuse outside of scratch", etc, which won't really stop anything from scratch's side or override anything I said, but at least it's there. - finally, ask scratch for opt-out or clarification on their "ai" usage This isn't anything official like I'm not a super professional ToS reader digester but I wasn't aware of this and want to spread awareness about it ORIGINAL PROJECT/DESCRIPTION written by Thank you for reading please add this to art studios to spread awareness! The ToS is made in a way that you don't really understand what you're agreeing to unless you really sit down and comb through it!
@CupieMaster for the original project I created none of this, I am merely spreading information to others. Okay. Scratch, what the actual hell. This is a new low, and I thought the Ro(censored because scratch doesn't like people saying other websites???)blox chat ban was bad... But this? Really? Using the user's imagination, creativity, heart, and soul all to dump into a soulless machine? Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I thought this was meant to be a website about imagining, programming, and sharing. To be a free space for users to post whatever their heart desires, their art, music, games, or any cool little thing, and you don't care about any of that anymore. Now, you just feel like cashing in on your success by selling people's hard work to a robot, and for what good reason? I'm disappointed. To the three people out there who still remember me, as an artist, composer, and game maker, I will no longer be posting any art or music on the platform, and I'd advise you to do the same. I may still post games, but don't expect me to be active as much anymore.
