The Surge in Ai Deepfakes: What Shakira's Viral Case Means for Legal Reform

An in-depth perspective on The Surge in Ai Deepfakes: What Shakira's Viral Case Means for Legal Reform, bringing you expert commentary.

Victims of non-consensual deepfakes face significant procedural hurdles when seeking legal remedies. Historically, prominent individuals turned to copyright law to remove unauthorized media. However, because copyright typically belongs to the photographer rather than the subject, public figures often lack direct standing to file Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notices unless they own the underlying source photographs.

Similarly, right-of-publicity statutes were drafted primarily to address commercial misappropriation, such as unapproved endorsements or merchandising. They are poorly suited to address targeted digital harassment or reputational damage. As a result, legal teams are shifting toward torts centered on intentional infliction of emotional distress, privacy violations, and newly introduced state-level synthetic media statutes. The cross-border nature of digital hosting infrastructure, however, often insulates malicious creators operating outside domestic jurisdictions.