header-logo header-logo

Deepfakes: a new frontier in civil law?

121599
Liam Tolen & Chris Fotheringham ask whether the law can protect individuals from deepfake harms
  • Advocates for a legal framework to protect individuals exposed to non-consensual deepfakery.
  • Looks at the possibility of intellectual property and defamation laws being applied in civil claims.
  • Notes legislative steps have been made, with more on the way, but there are still no specific civil remedies made available for those affected by deepfake technology.

One of ITV’s recent TV releases, Deep Fake Neighbour Wars, a comedy show that sends up celebrities, has attracted hostile feedback from some quarters. The reason is its use of deepfake technology to put celebrity faces on actors’ bodies.

Whether it’s Adele driving a London bus, or Idris Elba arguing with Kim Kardashian over the garden fence, the technology creates a fairly convincing fake and therefore an effective spoof.

The show is a clear use of deepfake technology being shown in an amusing way; however, the technology itself can be harmful.

What

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
back-to-top-scroll