Backing a new standard for creator protections with Really Simple Licensing

Raptive Raptive
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We believe creators and publishers should always have control over how their work is used and receive compensation if others use it. And as the landscape shifts underneath us, now is the time to advocate for protections that reflect our new digital reality.

That’s why we introduced Terms of Content Use earlier this year and continue to recommend blocking AI crawlers. It’s why we were part of the launch group with Cloudflare that contributed to its landmark move to block AI crawlers by default, and it’s why we’re piloting new programs, like a partnership with ProRata, to pioneer a model for how AI systems can ensure creators are credited and compensated for their work. 

These early actions may seem symbolic, but they’re critical for real, lasting change. Collectively, they send an important message: your content isn’t in the public domain. It belongs to you, and if someone—or some bot—wants to use it, they’ll need to get your consent.    

These actions are also building the foundations of a sustainable future for the open web. In 1995, no one could have predicted what web advertising would look like thirty years later. We’re in the same formative stage with AI content monetization today. 

An endorsement for Really Simple Licensing

As part of our efforts to advocate for responsible AI standards and encourage widespread adoption, we’re supporting the launch of Really Simple Licensing (RSL), a new open standard developed by the creators of RSS to define content rights and licensing terms for the internet.

RSL is backed by the RSL Collective. This is a Collective Rights Organization (CRO) for the internet whose mission is to: 

  • Enable collective bargaining on behalf of publishers and content creators
  • Establish a standard royalty unit for licensing content to AI
  • Expand the capabilities of robots.txt to collectively represent web publishers

Why do we need new standards? 

Historically, search engines crawled content, displayed links in search results, and sent traffic back to creators’ sites. This allowed them to monetize their content through ads or subscription services. 

Now, AI crawlers copy and summarize content, surfacing it directly to users and stripping creators of both traffic, revenue, and the opportunity to build their brand and community. 

With AI disrupting established business models, it’s clear that we need new standards. While these changes don’t happen overnight, they start when we all band together and demand change. 

What is RSL?

RSL is a step towards that change. It builds on the robots.txt protocol, which controls whether pages can be crawled or indexed. RSL takes things a step further, allowing publishers to: 

  • Define licensing rights and permissions 
  • Authenticate AI crawlers and block unauthorized access
  • Automate large-scale content licensing via APIs 

RSL creates a pathway for recurring income by treating AI outputs the way Spotify treats music. Spotify changed the music industry by making sure artists get paid each time their song is played, not just when someone buys or downloads a CD. Even though listeners don’t own the music outright, every stream creates value and licensing agreements guarantee that value goes back to the artist. 

RSL applies the same idea to AI. Instead of a one-time payment, creators would earn whenever AI uses their work, just as musicians do every time their song plays on Spotify. This sets up a fair system where creative work keeps paying off as long as people continue to use it. 

Raptive’s role in RSL

Raptive is a member of both the Technical Steering Committee and Publisher Steering Committee, which determine RSL Collective’s priorities. We’re involved in discussions about negotiations, royalty distributions, regulatory frameworks, and more, making sure creators and publishers are fairly represented. 

We strongly endorse the RSL standard because it empowers creators to get paid fairly for their work. AI crawlers cannot continue to freely scrape content without compensating the people who created it in the first place. 

The future of the internet depends on the presence of independent creators and publishers, and we encourage others to support this initiative so they can continue to build sustainable businesses that benefit us all.

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