Your Turn

From a reader.

Do you think people should have the right to copyright your identity?

Denmark is pioneering a legislative amendment to its Copyright Act that grants individuals automatic, legal ownership over their own face, voice, and physical likeness, treating personal identity as intellectual property to combat AI-generated deepfakes. 

Key features of the proposed law include:

Automatic Protection: Rights are granted to every individual by default without requiring registration, covering any realistic digital reproduction of a person's identity. 

Civil Enforcement Mechanism: Victims can issue takedown requests to platforms hosting unauthorized deepfakes; platforms that fail to remove such content face significant fines under the EU Digital Services Act. 

Compensation Rights: Individuals can seek financial damages for unauthorized use, even without proving reputational harm or malicious intent. 

Exemptions for Free Speech: The law explicitly protects parody, satire, caricature, and social criticism to ensure freedom of expression is not stifled. 

Performance Protections: Specific provisions (Section 65-a) protect performers from unauthorized AI imitations of their artistic acts. 

Championed by Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt, the bill is currently in public consultation with a formal parliamentary introduction expected in autumn 2025 and potential enactment by late 2025 or early 2026. Denmark plans to leverage its EU Council Presidency in 2025 to promote this model as a standard for digital identity rights across Europe.