- In a major move in the battle against the deluge of AI and deep fakes being generated, Denmark has become the first country in the world to propose laws that almost police people’s facial features, voices, and body images.
- Unlike the approaches taken by other countries, which tend to home in on the labelling of AI-generated content or the criminalisation of certain uses of deepfakes (sex videos, election interference), the new law in Denmark is unusually sweeping.
- By naming personal likeness as intellectual property, the law questions the idea that identities can be exploited free-for-all in the ‘Digital Wild West’.
- Denmark’s decision to give its citizens copyright on their facial features, voice and body is an innovative and much-needed answer to the very modern problem of AI-generated deepfakes.
Introduction
In a major move in the battle against the deluge of AI and deep fakes being generated, Denmark has become the first country in the world to propose laws that almost police people’s facial features, voices, and body images. This is a historic change to Denmark’s Copyright Act, first announced in June 2025 and due to be made final this year, but it is a landmark shift in the defence of personal identity in an increasingly digital world. Denmark is leading the charge in paving the way for how to navigate the moral and legal issues surrounding AI technology on a global scale by treating a person’s likeness as if it were intellectual property. This article looks at the implications of this precedent-setting law not only for individuals but for society as a whole within the larger context of deepfake regulation happening worldwide.
The Rise of Deepfakes and the Need for Action
Deepfakes, highly realistic, AI-generated videos, images or audio that impersonate a person’s likeness or voice have become a growing concern in recent years. Advances in generative AI have made it increasingly easy to create realistic forgeries of individuals, among them the creation of fictional pornography featuring their likeness at the drop of a hat and often without their consent. From nonconsensual pornography to political disinformation and financial fraud, deepfakes have been weaponised for harming, humiliating and causing fear and mistrust in others.
According to the report of DeepMedia in 2023, about 500,000 deepfake videos and audio clips were posted on social media in that year, though reports expected that number to jump to 8 million by 2025. Fraud losses involving deepfakes are estimated to reach $40 billion in 2027, so this is a problem that cannot wait to be solved. Present-day legislation in the majority of countries, where also Denmark is no exception, has failed to keep pace when addressing the fast-moving AI technology development. Indeed, traditional privacy, defamation and publicity laws rarely capture the unique problem of deepfakes, especially for the average person who could never afford to initiate massive litigation. The Danish Ministry of Culture, headed by Cultural Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt, has proposed to broaden the concept of ownership for the world that we live in, from merely one comprising assets to the human identity. Engel-Schmidt stressed the crucial role the amendment needed to play: “Nowadays humans can be run through the digital copy machine and misused for many purposes, and I’m not prepared to accept that”.
The proposed amendment to Denmark’s copyright law, which 9 out of 10 members of parliament have expressed their support for, is ushering in an entirely new concept that each person owns the rights to their own body, face and voice, automatically.
Denmark’s Law: A Brave New World of Digital Rights
The proposed amendment to Denmark’s copyright law, which 9 out of 10 members of parliament have expressed their support for, is ushering in an entirely new concept that each person owns the rights to their own body, face and voice, automatically. This regulation, which is expected to come into effect by late 2025 or early 2026, gives people the right to request that unauthorised deepfake material be taken down from the internet and to claim compensation for having had their likeness used in a fake video without consent. The regulation is designed to apply to “realistic, digitally created simulations,” meaning that content such as parodies or satire currently exempt under Denmark’s existing copyright regulations is not affected.
Unlike the approaches taken by other countries, which tend to home in on the labelling of AI-generated content or the criminalisation of certain uses of deepfakes (sex videos, election interference), the new law in Denmark is unusually sweeping. It provides everyday citizens, not just celebrities or public figures, with some of the legal tools to protect their digital identities. If an unauthorised deepfake image or video surfaces of someone in a compromising position, the victim can ask that the content be taken down, and in some cases, can even seek financial damages. Platforms that turn the tide could be hit with heavy fines, while the issue could be taken up by the European Commission if need be.
This regulatory model skirts around strict privacy or defamation laws, which usually require proving damaging intent or harm, whereas in the case of AI speech, that’s a very difficult thing to prove. This regulatory model is quick to wield the stick while slow to remove the carrot. By framing likeness as intellectual property, Denmark may ultimately open up a legal pathway for people to assert ownership over their digital selves. This has been praised as a “digital age Magna Carta” for having the audacity to affirm personal identity as a human right.
Global Context and Denmark’s Leadership
Denmark’s move is an effort to get out of the starting gate as governments worldwide are grappling with how they should address the ethical and social challenges surrounding deepfakes. In the US, the Take It Down Act (passed into law in May 2024) criminalises non-consensual deepfake imagery and forces social media companies to remove them within 48 hours of notification. The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which took effect late last summer, requires creators to label that their content was generated by AI, but it does not guarantee people own their likeness. Denmark’s law, by contrast, is proactive and wide-ranging, providing a model that other countries are likely to follow soon.
Culture Minister Engel-Schmidt has plans to pursue similar protections across Europe, as Denmark gears up for the EU Council presidency in 2025. This is in keeping with Denmark’s wider aspiration to make media and culture “the cornerstones of the defence of European democracies”. Notably, drawing on the precedents in Britain and more widely the EU could also provide a rationale for crafting a more consistent position on securing digital identity at an EU level and ultimately globally.
Culture Minister Engel-Schmidt has plans to pursue similar protections across Europe, as Denmark gears up for the EU Council presidency in 2025.
Challenges and Criticisms
Denmark’s legislation, though widely acclaimed, is fraught with difficulties. Critics say enforcement could be challenging, especially if deepfake content is hosted on platforms beyond Denmark’s jurisdiction, or if shared by users in countries with softer regulations. Enforcement without regulation is a shield, not a signal,” Francesco Cavalli of Sensity AI noted. The effectiveness of the law will depend heavily on the willingness of tech giants, some of them based in the United States, to cooperate and on the emergence of robust detection tools for deepfakes.
There is also the issue of unforeseen consequences. For example, what would the law do about people with similar looks or voices? There are also questions about the threshold for what counts as a “realistic” deepfake, as opposed to stylised content that isn’t likely to be covered. There’s also the worry that the loophole would be abused by bad actors producing harmful content disguised as satire or parody.
The Broader Implications
Pioneering legislation from Denmark is a great way to start bringing us back to individual empowerment in an age of relentless surveillance. And by naming personal likeness as intellectual property, the law questions the idea that identities can be exploited free-for-all in the “digital Wild West”. It also ramps up pressure for tech companies to focus on the protection of users and to reimagine how they produce synthetic content. For people, such a law not only provides a legal means for redress but also a sense of control in a time when AI can generate a speech pattern based on as little as three seconds of audio or create a believable video with little effort.
Beyond Denmark, this law could kick-start a global discussion of digital rights. With deepfake technology increasingly available, searches of “free voice cloning software” were 120% higher between July 2023 and 202. Nationals have to come to terms with the fact that anyone, not just celebrities, could be vulnerable. The Danish strategy presents a model for achieving the proper balance between innovation and ethics, making sure that the advancements of AI do not overrule the personal worth of human beings.
Conclusion
While a controversial law, Denmark’s decision to give its citizens copyright on their facial features, voice and body is an innovative and much-needed answer to the very modern problem of AI-generated deepfakes. In reclassifying personal identity as intellectual property, the country is not just protecting its citizens, but creating a worldwide model for digital rights. The aim is for other countries to follow suit as the world looks on at Denmark’s experiment and create a future in which people retain control over their digital selves. In a time when the line between reality and fantasy is ever more muddied, Denmark’s law sends a powerful signal, i.e. your face, your voice, and your identity are your own and no one can take that away from you.
References
- https://www.openfox.com/deepfakes-and-their-impact-on-society/
- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/27/deepfakes-denmark-copyright-law-artificial-intelligence
- https://digitalpolicyalert.org/event/31418-ministry-of-culture-announced-proposal-to-amend-the-copyright-act-prohibiting-unauthorised-sharing-of-digitally-generated-imitations-of-personal-characteristics
Megna Devkar is a Ph.D. Research Scholar at K.C. Law College with research and writing expertise in social, political, and legal issues. Views expressed are the author’s own.
Aayush Pal 
Parag Gilada