The Danish government plans to curb the creation and spread of AI-generated deepfakes by amending copyright law to ensure that everyone has the right to their own body, facial features, and voice.
Protection from digital imitations
The government announced on Thursday that it will strengthen protection against digital imitations of human identity with a law it believes is the first of its kind in Europe.
After securing broad political support, the Ministry of Culture plans to send the proposed amendment to public consultation before the summer break, and then officially present it in the autumn.
The Danish legislative definition of a deepfake includes a highly realistic digital depiction of a person, including their appearance and voice.
Minister of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt stated that he hopes this legislative proposal will send an “unambiguous message” that everyone has the right to their own appearance and sound.
Everyone has the right to their body, their voice
He said in an interview:
“With this legislative proposal, we are sending a clear message: everyone has the right to their own body, voice, and facial features –and the current law clearly does not protect people from generative AI.”
He added: “People can be digitally copied and abused for various purposes, and I do not want to accept that.”
Move supported by 90 percent of delegates
This move, supported by about 90% of delegates, comes at a time of rapid AI technology development that makes it easier than ever to create convincing fake images, videos, and audio that imitate other people.
Once the law is adopted, the amendments to copyright law will give people in Denmark the right to demand the removal of such content from the internet if it was published without their consent.
Realistically digitally generated imitations of works
The law will also apply to “realistically digitally generated imitations” of artistic performances without consent. Offenders could be required to pay compensation to those affected.
The government emphasized that the new regulations will not restrict parodies and satire, which will still be allowed.
Will other countries follow?
Minister Engel-Schmidt pointed out:
“Of course, this is a new area we are opening, and if platforms do not comply with the law, we are ready to take additional steps.”
He hopes that other European countries will follow the Danish example and plans to use the upcoming Danish presidency of the European Union (EU) to share the plans with European colleagues.
If technological platforms do not cooperate, they could face “serious penalties,” he said, adding that the issue could then be passed on to the European Commission.
“That is why I believe that technological platforms will take this very seriously,” he concluded.
