Sexualised & Synthetic: The Legal Implications Of The Celebrities Most Commonly Victimised By Deepfakes

• ‘Taylor Swift deepfake’ is searched 9,900 times per month – the most of any celebrity.
• ‘Deepfake Pornography’ has increased in searches by 97.5% since 2019.
• 25% of the most searched female celebrity deepfakes are aimed at Gen Z and below audiences.

In this age of continuous technological advancement, the line between reality and digital fabrication continues to be blurred at an unprecedented rate. In particular, the rise of AI over the last few years has paved the way for creative and educational uses. 

But like an episode of Black Mirror, one of the most troubling incarnations is celebrity deepfakes, described by Mirram-Webster as an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not done or said.

Undoubtedly, this has caused significant ethical, privacy, and intellectual property infringement concerns, especially when used as a tool to exploit the likeliness of well known female celebrities, turning them into images for manipulation and harassment.

With this in mind Briffa Legal, launched an investigation into the most searched celebrity deepfakes, discovering whose fame is being leveraged for disturbing consumption online and later examining solutions in intellectual property law to protect individuals from this invasive technology.

Common Celebrity Deepfake Victims

In April 2024 the UK Government proposed a new law to criminalise the creation of sexually explicit deepfake content, however, despite their efforts data shows that the popularity of the content is on the rise. 

According to search engine optimisation tool SEMRush, since 2019 the use of the search term ‘deepfake pornography’ alone has increased by 58x (from 140 to 8,100), underpinning the rise in the creation and consumption of the controversial material and its use on female celebrities.

Using SEMRush, a search engine optimisation platform, Briffa analysed the monthly search volume of search terms to uncover who the most commonly searched celebrities are for deepfakes in the UK. The results were staggering. Every celebrity result was seemingly female, with the search term often being the celebrity name alongside ‘deepfake porn’, ‘deepfake porn video’, or ‘deepfake pornography’ which shows the real search intent behind the user.

The majority of celebrities that make the list are A-list, household names like Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, and Margot Robbie, whose significance in pop culture makes their name on the list unsurprising. However, many names on the list may be new to audiences reading, particularly Millennials and older. Brook Monk, Addison Rae, Pokimane, Bobbi Althoff, and Talia Mar, who make up 25% of the list, have risen to fame online through channels such as TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch. 

This trend highlights the possible shift in adult entertainment preferences of younger generations but also raises important questions. Are Gen Z and below protected from sexually explicit content online? What can be done by lawmakers to tackle this ethical and privacy challenge?

Deepfake Legal Implications 

Current UK law regarding deepfakes involves a combination of existing legal frameworks and recent legislative developments aimed at addressing the misuse of such technology. The misuse of private information and breach of confidence are key legal avenues for addressing issues arising from deepfakes. 

Under UK law, there is no specific ‘image right’, but individuals can rely on various causes of action such as misuse of private information, defamation, passing off, and data protection to challenge or remove deepfakes.

The Online Safety Act 2023 has introduced significant changes, including new criminal offences specifically related to the use of deepfakes. This Act aims to protect users from illegal content on platforms and services that fall under UK jurisdiction. It does not grant specific takedown powers to the regulator but establishes a framework requiring service providers to mitigate risks associated with harmful content, including deepfakes.

Furthermore, the Criminal Justice Bill is set to introduce an offence concerning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes, targeting scenarios where such content is generated to cause distress, alarm, or humiliation, regardless of whether there is an intent to distribute.

Finally, from an intellectual property perspective, when protecting a likeness as a commercial asset the most relevant option for claimants may be the tort of passing off. However, the case of Irvine v Talksport illustrated that success will often depend on whether the individual whose likeness has been misappropriated has ‘a significant reputation or goodwill’ in the first instance. 

Passing off is conceptually related to trade mark infringement in that it effectively protects unregistered trade marks (which in this context might be an individual’s name or image). However, its wider scope can protect the attractive force of the claimant’s reputation. This will be especially relevant in cases of false or misleading deepfake videos used as false endorsements. 

About Briffa Legal

Briffa Legal is committed to supplying transparent and competitively priced intellectual property law services, particularly within creative industries. Their skilled team provides a high level of expertise matched with quick turnaround times to ensure your intellectual property rights and business interests are protected. 

Whether you’re involved in a dispute or you need help with a non-contentious matter, the Briffa team will quickly and reliably undertake the necessary work to protect and commercialise your intellectual property assets. Plus, with offices in London and Cork, they are fully prepared and ready to assist in all aspects of IP law in the UK, Europe, and beyond.

For more information, please contact us via email at info@briffa.com or call +44 020 70962779 (UK office) or +353 (0)21 2379722 (Ireland office).