Denmark’s Deepfake Copyright Law

The image was instantly recognizable, a holiday snap from her Instagram, yet horrifyingly alien.

In 2021, Danish video game live-streamer Marie Watson received a picture of herself, sent from an unknown account, where her clothing had been digitally erased.

“It overwhelmed me so much,” Watson recounted, the memory still raw.

“I just started bursting out in tears, because suddenly, I was there naked.”

It was a deepfake, an insidious digital manipulation that has, in the four years since her traumatic experience, become exponentially more realistic and alarmingly easier to produce.

Thanks to the dizzying pace of technological advancement and the widespread availability of generative artificial intelligence tools from tech giants like OpenAI and Google, the ability to conjure highly convincing fake images, videos, and audio of real people or events is now in the hands of millions.

What was once the domain of highly skilled technicians is now a few clicks away, enabling everything from the creation of non-consensual intimate imagery of celebrities like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, to the targeted humiliation of teenagers and women, and even the destabilization of democratic elections.

The digital frontier, it seems, has become a wild west where truth is negotiable and personal identity is under constant siege. Deepfake risks to identity

In response to this escalating threat, Denmark is preparing to take a decisive, and potentially groundbreaking, stand.

A proposed bill, anticipated to pass early next year, aims to amend existing copyright law, effectively granting Danish citizens copyright over their own likeness. Denmark eyes new law to protect citizens from AI deepfakes

This would encompass their appearance and voice, making it illegal for these personal characteristics to be imitated and shared online without explicit consent.

If enacted, this legislation would empower individuals to demand the removal of deepfake content from online platforms, a legal recourse currently largely absent for victims worldwide. Danish copyright law against deepfakes

This legislative courage has not gone unnoticed.

Henry Ajder, founder of Latent Space Advisory and a leading expert in generative AI, applauds the Danish government for confronting a legal void that has left countless individuals vulnerable.

“Because right now, when people say ‘what can I do to protect myself from being deepfaked?’ the answer I have to give most of the time is: ‘There isn’t a huge amount you can do,’ Ajder explained, “without me basically saying, ‘scrub yourself from the internet entirely.’ Which isn’t really possible.”

His sentiment underscores a profound shift in how we must now conceive of identity and dignity in the digital age.

“We can’t just pretend that this is business as usual,” he added, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

The Danish initiative is poised to be among the most extensive governmental steps yet taken globally to combat misinformation propagated through deepfakes.

While the U.S. enacted bipartisan legislation in May making it illegal to publish or threaten to publish intimate images without consent, including deepfakes, and South Korea introduced measures last year specifically targeting deepfake pornography, Denmark’s approach appears broader, aiming to protect a citizen’s fundamental right to their own digital self.

Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt articulated the urgency, noting the bill enjoys broad parliamentary support in Copenhagen.

“If you’re able to deepfake a politician without her or him being able to have that product taken down, that will undermine our democracy,” he stated, highlighting the existential threat these manipulations pose to societal trust and political integrity. Deepfake threats to democracy

While the proposed law would apply only within Denmark and is unlikely to levy fines or imprisonment on individual social media users, its teeth are intended for the tech giants.

Platforms failing to remove deepfakes could face severe financial penalties, a clear signal that the responsibility for content moderation is shifting.

Engel-Schmidt pointed to Google-owned YouTube as an example of a platform with a “very, very good system for getting the balance between copyright protection and freedom of creativity,” suggesting that some platforms are indeed capable of rising to the challenge.

Yet, the silence from other major players like Twitch, TikTok, and Meta (owners of Facebook and Instagram) when approached for comment speaks volumes about the uneven landscape of platform accountability.

The fact that Denmark, currently holding the EU’s rotating presidency, has already garnered interest from other member states like France and Ireland, suggests a growing European consensus on the need for such protections.

Intellectual property lawyer Jakob Plesner Mathiasen observes that the legislation itself is a testament to the pervasive danger deepfakes now present in everyday Danish life. Copyright laws on likeness

“I think it definitely goes to say that the ministry wouldn’t make this bill, if there hadn’t been any occasion for it,” he said, pointing to deepfakes in fake news, elections, pornography, and affecting both celebrities and “everyday people — like you and me.”

The Danish Rights Alliance, an organization safeguarding creative industries, echoes this sentiment, with director Maria Fredenslund noting the inadequacy of current copyright law.

Voice actor David Bateson, known for the “Hitman” video game and Lego ads, found himself without legal recourse when AI voice clones of his work proliferated online.

“When we reported this to the online platforms, they say ‘OK, but which regulation are you referring to?’ We couldn’t point to an exact regulation in Denmark,” Fredenslund explained, illustrating the critical gap this new bill aims to fill.

Marie Watson, whose harrowing experience serves as a stark reminder of the personal cost of deepfakes, remains cautiously optimistic.

She had heard of other influencers being digitally altered but never imagined it would happen to her.

Her descent into the dark corners of the web, where deepfake imagery — often of women — is bought and sold, revealed how disturbingly simple it was to create such pictures using readily available online tools. Deepfake creation tools

“You could literally just search ‘deepfake generator’ on Google or ‘how to make a deepfake,’ and all these websites and generators would pop up,” the 28-year-old said.

While she welcomes her government’s action, she harbors a deep-seated skepticism about true control once content is unleashed online.

“It shouldn’t be a thing that you can upload these types of pictures,” she asserts.

“When it’s online, you’re done.

You can’t do anything, it’s out of your control.”

Her words serve as a potent reminder that while legislation can provide a framework, the ultimate battle for digital dignity will be fought on the ever-evolving terrain of internet platforms and the hearts and minds of their users.

The Danish bill is a vital step, but the journey towards a truly safe and truthful digital commons has only just begun.