We've all come across one or two. A video of the Pope dancing in a nightclub, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky surrendering, or former US President Barack Obama being arrested in the oval office. They all have one thing in common, and that is that they are fake! Deepfakes to be precise. The result of AI generated video technology, capable of animating a still image from the past, making you dance with a deceased relative and anything else your imagination can conjure.

While some deepfakes can be rather obvious to spot as untrue, some others, if done cleverly enough, can be rather tricky indeed to determine weather they are fake or not. Perhaps with extremely famous people like Presidents and such, it is not very difficult to cross-reference an occurrence (for those of us who have the foresight to do that), but with private individuals it can be harder. So deepfakes, while sometimes rather entertaining, can be a serious threat to security and democracy.

I read with great interest how Denmark has recently been working on a proposal to protect its citizens' likeness, at law. In fact, the bill which is expected to be tabled in the Danish Parliament this autumn is expected to 'copyright' the bodily features of citizens such as their body, voice and facial features, effectively giving them legal avenues of recourse, should they be used maliciously via generative tech.

If enacted, this groundbreaking amendment to Danish copyright law would make Denmark the first country in Europe to recognise individual likenesses as intellectual property, granting citizens authority to demand removal and even seek redress for AI‑generated replicas made without consent.

On the surface, the logic is quite simple. Deepfakes wield the power to manipulate and mislead their audiences, from plausible fake political statements to AI‑generated revenge pornography. Current legal tools often prove inadequate to protect citizens, however, Denmark's proposal bridges the gap by redefining bodily identity as something citizens own and control, a right enforceable under copyright law.

Deepfakes are fast becoming a potential threat to personal dignity, democratic discourse, artistic integrity, and trust online. While the EU's AI Act already mandates transparency and watermarking for generative content, it doesn't grant individuals direct legal recourse when their likeness is used without consent. This is where Denmark's initiative goes a step further, granting citizens the legal right to force platforms to remove deepfake content about them, as well as the right to pursue compensation if their rights are violated.

Importantly, satire and parody are given a free pass in this legislation, in order to protect freedom of speech, and allow artists and satirists free hand in their fields. Though there might be some who might try to use this caveat as a loophole, I am sure that given the right legal provisos, both the letter as well as the spirit of the law can be clear enough.

Denmark's proposed amendment is certainly bold and arguably ahead of its time. While implementation will undoubtedly face challenges of enforcement, and interpretation, the fundamental thrust is sound, and that is, individuals deserve the right to own and govern their own physical likeness in the digital age.

I am greatly interested in this proposed legislation and will follow closely how the discussion will proceed. I believe that in the age of advanced technologies and AI, our governments ought to emulate Denmark and take the lead in protecting their citizens from harm. Because we must realise that the digital realm is very much a very real realm, that occupies a significant part of our daily lives.

Julie Zahra is the Opposition's Shadow Minister for Cultural Heritage, Arts, and Culture