The C2PA has issued a clarification statement responding to a recent EU stakeholder consultation that referenced "C2PA TDM Assertions." The coalition confirmed that its Technical Specification for Content Credentials does not contain a standard assertion related to Text and Data Mining (TDM).
The clarification addresses confusion that arose when an EU survey on AI training data referenced C2PA TDM capabilities that do not exist in the specification. The C2PA stated clearly that Content Credentials are designed for provenance and authenticity - recording where content came from and how it was modified - not for expressing preferences about AI training data usage.
Why this matters
The distinction is important for two reasons. First, it prevents policy decisions from being made based on incorrect assumptions about what C2PA can do. If regulators assume C2PA handles TDM opt-outs, they might rely on a capability that doesn't exist.
Second, it clarifies the scope of Content Credentials. C2PA is a provenance standard, not a rights management standard. It can tell you who created content and how - but it's not designed to express or enforce usage permissions like AI training opt-outs. Other standards and mechanisms (such as robots.txt, TDM Reservation Protocol, or licensing metadata) address that different problem.
The clarification is a healthy sign of a maturing standard body - being explicit about boundaries is as important as expanding capabilities.