German voice actors boycott Netflix over AI training clause in dubbing contracts

German union challenges Netflix clause allowing potential AI training use of voice recordings

German voice actors have launched a boycott of Netflix over a contract clause they believe could allow the streamer to use their recordings for artificial intelligence training.

Netflix distributes foreign-language content in new territories either with subtitles or through dubbed versions recorded by local actors. The dubbing sector has raised concerns in recent years about the impact of artificial intelligence on performers’ livelihoods.

At the start of 2026, Verband Deutscher Spreche, translated as the Association of German Speakers, identified a clause in a new Netflix contract which it says appears to permit the use of voice recordings for AI training without remuneration. According to Reuters, the union staged a boycott on February 3 2026.

In response, Netflix sent a letter stating that the concerns were based on a “misunderstanding” of how the platform intends to use the recordings.

VDS chairperson Anna-Sophia Lumpe said Netflix had invited the union to an informal discussion and added that “they also end the letter with the promise that if people continue to boycott working for them, that content will be shown with German subtitles in Germany.”

The association commissioned a law firm to review the contract in relation to data privacy, copyright law and the EU AI Act. On 9 February, VDS published the findings of that review, citing an opinion from Spirit Legal.

The advice recommended that actors do not sign the contract, raising concerns including “a lack of clear use of AI training data, undermining copyright law; infeasibility of proper opt-outs, violating GDPR; and non-standard business practices that may conflict with existing law.”