How to Stop AI from STEALING Your Face and Voice

Lately, one of the editing programs I use to make videos has been sending me ads about how I can “create my own personal avatar.” Apparently, instead of actually recording myself, I could just upload a photo and a few voice samples, and voilà — a digital clone of me could read any script in my voice and face (hopefully you would know it wasn’t really me and that it was a clone.)

So, this is something that is very startling and alarming to me.

Now, let me be clear: I have not done this upgrade. I’m not interested, and I never will be.

Countries like Denmark and the United States are moving toward laws that would make your face, voice, and likeness legally yours…as in, copyrighted property.

Denmark Proposes Copyright Law that Grants Citizens Ownership of Their Face, Voice, and Body

According to a report from Unbox Factory:

“In a world where artificial intelligence can replicate a person’s voice or face in seconds, Denmark is stepping forward with a groundbreaking proposal: a copyright law that grants every citizen ownership of their own likeness.

If passed, this law would mean no one — not even AI companies — could legally use your face, voice, or body data without consent. The move comes amid growing global concerns about deepfakes, where digital replicas of real people are used in scams, misinformation, and even political manipulation.

By treating human identity as intellectual property, Denmark aims to ensure individuals have legal control over how AI models use their personal traits.

This could become a global blueprint for digital rights, forcing technology to serve humanity — not exploit it. In the age of deepfakes, Denmark reminds the world that authenticity is worth protecting.”

On the surface, that sounds fine, right? Who wouldn’t want protection from being digitally cloned?

But don’t I already own my own face? And my own likeness??

Why should I have to file paperwork with the government to prove that?

Because if such a law passes, how exactly would you “prove” that it’s you? Through digital biometrics? Fingerprints? Face scans? Iris scans? A government-issued “identity match” file? Once again, we’re led right back to the idea of turning over more of our personal data.

Otherwise, where does it end? How do you file a complaint against this copyright? How do you prove that it’s actually you if you have some sort of copyright on you?

So, as far as I understand it, as of today, it has not been passed yet.

The World Economic Forum (yes, the same one I like to call “the WEFers”) has been publicly sounding the alarm over deepfakes, too. And when the WEF and the WHO start “worrying” about a problem, my instincts tell me to look twice.

What are deepfakes?

Deepfakes use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create highly realistic fake images, videos and audio recordings. The term comes from “deep learning” and “fake” and describes both the AI technology used and the resulting content.

Deepfakes either alter existing content – like replacing Michael J. Fox’s face with Tom Holland’s in clips from Back to the Future – or generate new content showing someone saying or doing something they didn’t.

While superimposing faces in a film scene may seem innocuous at first glance, it still challenges the individual’s right to their image. US actors went on strike for this right in 2023, bringing film and TV productions to a standstill and securing the industry’s commitment that, in future, any AI use of actors’ images would require consent.

There’s no question that deepfakes are a real threat to identities, reputations, politics, and more. But before we sign on to new systems of biometric tracking and identity control in the name of “protection,” maybe we pause and ask questions like:

Isn’t your face already yours?
Isn’t your likeness already yours? Who decides what counts as a “verified” likeness and who gets to challenge it?

When has the government ever stepped in to “protect” us without eventually expanding its power in the process?

What happens when the same institutions that can’t safeguard your data from hackers now want to store your face, your fingerprints, your voice, and your iris scan all in one database?

Aren’t Deepfakes Just Digital Identity Theft?

Why do we need new laws for something that’s basically already illegal?

If someone uses your face, voice, or name to deceive others, that’s identity fraud. And we already have laws for that. Same goes for impersonation, defamation, and fraud. You can’t open a bank account or run a scam using someone else’s information, so why should digital impersonation be treated any differently?

I’m assuming deepfakes exist in this legal gray zone because most were originally used for “entertainment” — think satire or film editing. But in my book, that’s still deception.

Friends, these new “deepfake laws” could end up being duplicative or worse, they sneak in language that hands the government sweeping new powers over digital identity, biometric verification, and online content moderation.

Once you start building systems to “verify” what’s real, you also build the infrastructure to control what’s real.

So sure, enforcement needs to catch up technologically. But that’s an enforcement issue not a legislative one.