Denmark is battling deepfakes with new legislation targeting AI-generated imitations of people’s images, often running counter to a given person’s character, sometimes grotesquely so, and which can go viral on the web.
The Scandinavian country said it will be the first in Europe to introduce such a change to its copyright law to guarantee individuals have the legal tools needed to protect their physical looks, including facial features, and voice and demand the removal of any such content imitating them without their consent from online platforms. In its current form, violators will face fines, i.e., compensation, to be paid to the individual affected.
“Foreign media have discovered that Denmark is the first country in the EU to secure the right to own body and vote. Necessary in a time when it has never been easier to AI-copy and plant dis- and misinformation,” Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt posted on X, attaching an article out of the Guardian.
He added that he will discuss the proposal with his EU colleagues when Denmark takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union this July.
According to the Guardian, the new law defines a deepfake “as a very realistic digital representation of a person, including their appearance and voice.”
Engel-Schmidt was adamant that Denmark will not allow people to “be run through the digital copy machine and be misused for all sorts of purposes.” He told the Guardian: “In the bill we agree and are sending an unequivocal message that everybody has the right to their own body, their own voice and their own facial features, which is apparently not how the current law is protecting people against generative AI.”
Last year, a slew of celebrities (and their families) have had to speak up and even sue over fake likenesses being disseminated online. There was a “new” comedy routine by George Carlin, who had died back in 2008, a promotional video for Lisa AI using Scarlett Johansson’s image and voice, and dental services promoted by none other than Tom Hanks.
But it’s more than just celebrities. AI-generated images and videos are being used to generate sympathy and hype political messaging, like in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. And just this month, Disney and Universal sued Midjourney for piracy over images — from Spiderman to Darth Vader — that belong to these studios, calling it a “bottomless pit of plagiarism.”
Exempted from the draft legislation are parodies and satire. The new amendment is expected to be voted on this autumn.
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