Denmark moves to protect citizens from deepfakes with new copyright law

Denmark is preparing to introduce a new law to protect citizens from the growing threat of deepfakes, digitally manipulated images, videos, or audio that realistically imitate real people. 

In 2021, Danish video game live-streamer Marie Watson received a shocking image of herself from an anonymous Instagram account. She immediately recognised the holiday photo from her own social media but noticed something horrifying: her clothing had been digitally removed to make her appear naked.

“It overwhelmed me so much,” Watson recalled to Euronews. “I just started bursting out in tears, because suddenly, I was there naked.”

Since then, deepfakes have become easier to create and far more convincing, driven by rapid advances in generative AI technology and the widespread availability of tools from major companies like OpenAI and Google. These tools, while designed for creative purposes, are increasingly being used maliciously — from fabricating celebrity content of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry to manipulating political discourse and targeting private individuals.

In response, Denmark is moving to amend its copyright law to give citizens greater control over their personal likeness. The proposed bill, expected to pass early next year, would make it illegal to share deepfakes that imitate a person’s appearance or voice without consent.

If enacted, Danes would effectively gain copyright ownership over their likeness, enabling them to demand that online platforms remove offending content. The legislation would still allow parody and satire, though how those exceptions will be determined remains unclear.

Experts have praised Denmark’s move as a significant step toward addressing deepfake-related harms. Henry Ajder, founder of Latent Space Advisory and a leading expert in generative AI, said he welcomes the government’s recognition that the law must evolve.

“Because right now, when people say ‘what can I do to protect myself from being deepfaked?’ the answer I have to give most of the time is: ‘There isn’t a huge amount you can do,’” he explained. “We can’t just pretend that this is business as usual for how we think about those key parts of our identity and our dignity.”

Other countries are also tightening regulations. In the United States, President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation in May banning the publication or threat to publish intimate images, including deepfakes, without consent. South Korea has introduced harsher penalties and stricter platform oversight to combat deepfake pornography.

Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said the bill has wide political backing because deepfakes can “stir doubts about reality and spread misinformation.” He warned that without the ability to remove manipulated media, “that will undermine our democracy.” While the new law would apply only in Denmark, major tech platforms that fail to comply could face heavy fines.

The Danish Rights Alliance, which represents creative industries, supports the bill, arguing that current copyright law is insufficient. Voice actor David Bateson — known for roles in “Hitman” and Lego’s English-language ads — has faced the unregulated sharing of AI-generated voice clones.

“When we reported this to the online platforms, they say ‘OK, but which regulation are you referring to?’” said the alliance’s director, Maria Fredenslund. “We couldn’t point to an exact regulation in Denmark.”

Watson, who was victimised by a deepfake, welcomes the government’s action but remains skeptical.

“It shouldn’t be a thing that you can upload these types of pictures,” she said. “When it’s online, you’re done. You can’t do anything, it’s out of your control.”

By Sabina Mammadli