Deepfake
A deepfake is a convincing likeness of a real person, produced or altered with AI. The word combines deep learning and fake. What matters is not the technique but the effect: the content can be taken for a genuine recording.
What the law says
Since 2 August 2026, Article 50 of the AI Act has required disclosure for deepfakes, meaning produced or altered content showing real or plausibly real people, places or events. Alongside that sit personality rights, the prohibition of misleading advertising, and the separate rules of YouTube, Meta and TikTok.
The duty falls on whoever distributes the content, not only on whoever produced it. For a company that means an agency delivering without a notice does not solve the problem, it moves it.
What we do and do not do
No likenesses of real people without their consent
That covers public figures as much as employees, customers and competitors, and it covers drafts nobody intends to publish. With consent a great deal is possible: a translation with matching mouth movement, a de-aging, a second version without a new shoot date.
A visibly artificial avatar that resembles nobody is not a deepfake. The line does not run at the tool but at the question of whether someone can take the content for a genuine recording of a real person.
Frequently asked questions
What is a deepfake?
A deepfake is a medium produced or altered with AI that shows a real person convincingly, for instance by placing their face into other footage or putting words in their mouth. What defines it is being mistakable for a genuine recording.
Are deepfakes illegal?
Not as such. With the consent of the person shown and with labelling they are permitted. Without consent they infringe personality rights, and in advertising the prohibition of misleading claims applies on top.
How do you label a deepfake properly?
Visibly and understandably, ideally in the image rather than only in the description. We plan the notice to fit the design instead of pasting it on at the end, and supply the declarations the platforms ask for.
Related terms
Read on: All terms in the glossary • Terms
Are we allowed to show this?
If real people are to appear in the film, we settle consent and labelling first.
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