Lawmakers in Ireland and Denmark are moving to become the first countries to limit the creation and dissemination of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated deepfakes.
An AI advisory council in Ireland has beseeched government ministers to ban “deepfakes” of individuals. The government is also increasingly concerned about the use of deepfakes in criminal activity.
“In light of the potential misuse of AI, such as widely available technology that can digitally clone the image, likeness, and/or voice of individuals, the council recommends that the Government considers introducing a specific law prohibiting the creation of digital ‘deep fakes’ of individuals without their consent,” the council said.
The recommendations come on the heels of the Danish government’s announcement last week to change copyright laws to grant people ownership of their voice, body, and facial features.
Irish Culture Minister Patrick O’Donovan requested a meeting with his Danish counterpart, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, to discuss ways to strengthen protection against digital imitations of people’s identities, Extra.ie reported.
Danish authorities are considering changes to copyright law that give individuals the right to demand that online platforms remove such content if it is shared without consent. The legislation would also cover “realistic, digitally generated imitations” of an artist’s performance without consent. Violation of the proposed rules could result in compensation for performers who are affected. The new rules would not affect parodies and satire.
Europe’s clampdown on deepfakes and AI in general comes as U.S. legislators mull an extended multiyear moratorium on AI state laws.
Members of the Senate are debating the inclusion of an “AI Moratorium” as part of a so-called vote-a-rama this week that would freeze state legislation on AI for year years as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill proposed by the Trump administration. The White House is pushing for a decade-long ban.
Despite the spread of deepfakes, especially in political ads, there is no federal legislation in the U.S. that bans their use or regulates the technology. The Identifying Outputs of Generative Adversarial Networks Act requires the director of the National Science Foundation to support research for development and measurement of standards needed to generate GAN outputs and any other comparable techniques developed in the future.
Several states have enacted legislation to regulate deepfakes, including Texas, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Indiana, Tennessee, Oregon, and Mississippi.
