Denmark eyes law to protect citizens from AI deepfakes

In 2021, Danish video game live-streamer Marie Watson received an image of herself from an unknown Instagram account.

- Stefanie Dazio, Associated Press

Taylor Swift

She instantly recognized the holiday snap from her Instagram account, but something was different: Her clothing had been digitally removed. It was a deepfake. “Itoverwhelmedmesomuch,” Watson recalled. “I just started bursting out in tears, because suddenly, | was shocked.” In the four years since her experience, deepfakes — highly realistic artificialintelligence-generatedimages, videos or audio of real people or events — have become not only easier to make worldwide but also look or sound exponentially more realistic. That's thankstotechnological advances andthe proliferation of generative Al tools, including video generation tools from OpenAland Google.

These tools give millions of users the ability toeasily spit out content, including fornefarious purposes that range from depicting celebrities Taylor Swift and Katy Perry to disruptingelections and humiliating teens and women. In response, Denmark is seeking to protect ordinary Danes, as well as performers and artists who might have their appearance or voice imitated and shared without their permission. A bill that’s expected to pass early next year would change copyright law by imposing a ban on the sharing of deepfakes to protect citizens’ personal characteristics — such as their appearance or voice — from being imitated and shared online without their consent.