Fake It Till You Make It: An Examination of the US and English Approaches to Persona Protection As Applied to Deepfakes on Social Media

Abstract

The emergence of ‘deepfakes’, a recent Artificial Intelligence development, presents new challenges to regulations that question the applicability of existing law in the USA and the UK.

As technology becomes more sophisticated, the range of uses of persona will potentially increase.

While the use of deepfakes in advertising can be harmful to the consuming public who may be swayed under the guise of false celebrity endorsements, the ability to manipulate videos of public figures has further potentially grievous effects, particularly with regard to political influence.

Keywords: intellectual property law, image rights, deep fakes