Creative Commons has unveiled “CC Signals,” a new framework that lets data holders (photographers) specify how their content can be used by AI systems, especially for training purposes. Inspired by its widely used open licensing system, CC Signals aims to bring transparency and ethical standards to content reuse in the AI era.

The initiative addresses growing concerns over how publicly available content is used to train AI. By offering a clear, limited set of reuse options, CC Signals provides a middle ground between unrestricted data scraping and closed, paywalled ecosystems.

“CC Signals are designed to sustain the commons in the age of AI,” says Creative Commons CEO Anna Tumadóttir. General Counsel Sarah Hinchliff Pearson adds that collective action is key to ensuring a more open, fair AI future.

Creative Commons is inviting public feedback as it develops the framework, with an alpha launch planned for November 2025. More details and early design insights are available on the organization’s website.