Denmark seeks to make it illegal to spread deepfake images, citing concern about misinformation
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark is taking steps toward enacting a ban on the use of 'deepfake' imagery online, saying such digital manipulations can stir doubts about reality and foster misinformation.
The government said in a statement published Thursday that a 'broad cross section' of parties in parliament support greater protections against deepfakes and a planned bill is expected to make it illegal to share them or other digital imitations of personal characteristics.
Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt, in a statement, said that it was 'high time that we now create a safeguard against the spread of misinformation and at the same time send a clear signal to the tech giants.'
Officials said the measures are believed to be among the most extensive steps yet taken by a government to combat misinformation through deepfakes, which refers to highly realistic but fabricated content created by artificial intelligence tools.
Deepfakes usually come in the form of pictures or video but can also be audio. They can make it appear that someone said or did something that they didn't actually say or do. Famous figures who have been depicted in deepfakes include Taylor Swift and Pope Francis.
Authorities in different countries have taken varying approaches to tackling deepfakes, but they've mostly focused on sexually explicit images.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation in May that makes it illegal to knowingly publish or threaten to publish intimate images without a person's consent, including deepfakes. Last year, South Korea rolled out measures to curb deepfake porn, including harsher punishment and stepped up regulations for social media platforms.
Supporters of the Danish idea say that as technology advances, it will soon be impossible for people online to distinguish between real and manipulated material.
'Since images and videos also quickly become embedded in people's subconscious, digitally manipulated versions of an image or video can create fundamental doubts about — and perhaps even a completely wrong perception of — what are genuine depictions of reality,' an English translation of a ministry statement said. 'The agreement is therefore intended to ensure the right to one's own body and voice.'
The proposal would still allow for 'parodies and satire' — though the ministry didn't specify how that would be determined. It said that the rules would only apply in Denmark, and violators wouldn't be subject to fines or imprisonment — even if some 'compensation' could be warranted.
The ministry said that a proposal will be made to amend Danish law on the issue this summer with an aim toward passage late this year or in early 2026. Any changes must abide by the country's international obligations and European Union law, it said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Entrepreneur
32 minutes ago
- Entrepreneur
Microsoft Staff Told to Use AI More at Work: Report
Microsoft may even start factoring AI tool use into performance reviews, the report claims. A new report from Business Insider claims that Microsoft is considering formal metrics for evaluating how much employees use AI during the workday. The outlet viewed an email from Julia Liuson, president of the developer division at Microsoft, which told managers to include time spent using internal AI tools, both in-house and from the competition, in employee performance reviews. Related: 'Not Cool': Sam Altman Says Lawsuit Over Secret Jony Ive Project Is 'Silly' "AI is now a fundamental part of how we work," Liuson wrote in the email. "Just like collaboration, data-driven thinking, and effective communication, using AI is no longer optional — it's core to every role and every level." AI use at work is already on the rise. This week, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told Bloomberg that AI was handling half of all work at his company. AI is taking care of "30% to 50% of the work at Salesforce now," Benioff said. Meanwhile, a new report from SignalFire, a venture capital firm that monitors the job movements of over 650 million employees on LinkedIn, found that advances in AI have already led big tech companies to reduce the hiring of new graduates (down 25% from 2023 to 2024). Related: Meta Poaches the CEO of a $32 Billion AI Startup — After Trying to Buy the Company and Being Told No
TechCrunch
32 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
As job losses loom, Anthropic launches program to track AI's economic fallout
Silicon Valley has opined on the promise of generative AI to forge new career paths and economic opportunities – like the newly coveted solo unicorn startup. Banks and analysts have touted AI's potential to boost GDP. But those gains are unlikely to be distributed equally in the face of what many expect to be widespread AI-related job loss. Amid this backdrop, Anthropic on Friday launched its Economic Futures Program, a new initiative to support research on AI's impacts on the labor market and global economy and to develop policy proposals to prepare for the shift. 'Everybody's asking questions about what are the economic impacts [of AI], both positive and negative,' Sarah Heck, head of policy programs and partnerships at Anthropic, told TechCrunch. 'It's really important to root these conversations in evidence and not have predetermined outcomes or views on what's going to [happen].' At least one prominent name has shared his views on the potential economic impact of AI: Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei. In May, Amodei predicted that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and spike unemployment to as high as 20% in the next one to five years. When asked if one of the key goals of Anthropic's Economic Futures Program was to research ways to mitigate AI-related job loss, Heck was cautious, noting that the disruptive shifts AI will bring could be 'both good and bad.' 'I think the key goal is to figure out what is actually happening,' she said. 'If there is job loss, then we should convene a collective group of thinkers to talk about mitigation. If there will be huge GDP expansion, great. We should also convene policy makers to figure out what to do with that. I don't think any of this will be a monolith.' The program builds on Anthropic's existing Economic Index, launched in February, which open-sources aggregated, anonymized data to analyze the effects of AI on labor markets and the economy over time – data that many of its competitors lock behind corporate walls. Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW The program will focus on three main areas: providing grants to researchers investigating AI's effect on labor, productivity, and value creation; creating forums to develop and evaluate policy proposals to prepare for AI's economic impacts; and building datasets to track AI's economic usage and impact. Anthropic is kicking off the program with some action items. The company has opened applications for its rapid grants of up to $50,000 for 'empirical research on AI's economic impacts,' as well as evidence-based policy proposals for Anthropic-hosted symposia events in Washington, D.C. and Europe in the fall. Anthropic is also seeking partnerships with independent research institutions and will provide partners with Claude API credits and other resources to support research. For the grants, Heck noted that Anthropic is looking for individuals, academics, or teams that can come up with high-quality data in a short period of time. 'We want to be able to complete it within six months,' she said. 'It doesn't necessarily have to be peer-reviewed.' For the symposia, Anthropic wants policy ideas from a wide variety of backgrounds and intellectual perspectives, said Heck. She noted that policy proposals would go 'beyond labor.' 'We want to understand more about the transitions,' she said. 'How do workflows happen in new ways? How are new jobs being created that nobody ever contemplated before?…How are certain skills remaining valuable while others are not?' Heck said Anthropic also hopes to study the effects of AI on fiscal policy. For example, what happens if there's a major shift in the way enterprises see value creation? 'We really want to open the aperture here on things that can be studied,' Heck said. 'Labor is certainly one of them, but it's a much broader swath.' Anthropic rival OpenAI released its own Economic Blueprint in January, which focuses more on helping the public adopt AI tools, building robust AI infrastructure and establishing 'AI economic zones' that streamline regulations to promote investment. While OpenAI's Stargate project to build data centers across the U.S. in partnership with Oracle and SoftBank would create thousands of construction jobs, OpenAI doesn't directly address AI-related job loss in its economic blueprint. OpenAI's blueprint does, however, outline frameworks where government could play a role in supply chain training pipelines, investing in AI literacy, supporting regional training programs, and scaling public university access to compute to foster local AI-literate workforces. Anthropic's economic impact program is part of a slow but growing shift among some tech companies to position themselves as part of the solution to the disruption they're helping to create – whether out of reputational concern, genuine altruism, or a mix of both. For instance, on Thursday, ride-hail company Lyft launched a forum to gather input from human drivers as it starts integrating robotaxis into its platform.
Skift
39 minutes ago
- Skift
Regional Air Travel Startups Raise Over $85 Million: Funding Roundup
The biggest airlines are behind on updating their tech systems and operations; regional airlines are even further behind. Travel Startup Funding This Week Each week we round up jd@ if you have funding news. Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding . Please email Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes atif you have funding news. One big theme for travel startups this week is regional air travel. Three companies raised money toward their efforts to modernize various aspects of the industry, from software to aircraft themselves. The biggest airlines are behind on updating their tech systems and operations; Regional airlines are even further behind. Like the rest of the flying taxi startups, one such company on the list seeks to create a new type of commercial travel. Over the last week, six travel startups announced fundraises totaling more than $100 million. Expliseat: $42.1 Million Expliseat, which develops and manufactures lightweight seats for commercial aircraft, has raised $42.1 million (€36 million). Crédit Mutuel Innovation led the round, with support from the SPI fund (managed by public sector investment bank Bpifrance for the French government), Supernova Invest, Swen Capital, BNP Paribas Développement, GO Capital, and NCI. France-based Expliseat says it has invested heavily in research and development for lightweight seats, securing more than 100 patents. The company says that its flagship product, the TiSeat 2, weighs 30% less than traditional seats. The company says it has orders totaling $58.5 million (€50 million). Clients include Air France, Air Canada, and Jazeera Airways. Expliseat has a new facility in France that it says can produce 32,000 units annually. And it recently opened an office in Montreal as it seeks to expand business in the North American aviation market. The funding will go toward business expansion, along with continued R&D for the next generation of its products. The company also plans to move into rail and electric buses. Surf Air Mobility: $27 Million Surf Air Mobility, an airline owner that is also developing tech for regional airlines, has raised $27 million in a registered direct offering of common stock. The company sold roughly 10.8 million shares of common stock for $2.50 each. Surf Air Mobility's regional airline software includes products for operations efficiency, sales and sourcing customers, and aircraft utilization. The company owns two regional airlines — Southern Airways Express and Hawaii's Mokulele Airlines — as well as Surf Air, a website for booking private charter flights. Surf Air is also working to commercialize electric and hybrid-electric powertrains for regional aircrafts, including for the Cessna Caravan. Founded in 2020, Surf Air Mobility acquired the airlines as part of its debut on the stock market through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2023. The funding will go toward operations and paying down debt. XTI Aerospace: $16 Million XTI Aerospace, which is developing a flying taxi for long distances, has raised $16 million. The funds come from an underwritten public offering of stock and warrants, priced at $1.75 each. Colorado-based XTI Aerospace is developing a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft called TriFan 600. It is designed to travel up to 1,000 miles at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour, and can carry a pilot and six passengers. The two turboshaft engines are designed to be fully compatible with renewable jet fuels, with future plans for electric engines. The company plans to primarily target the business and commercial travel industries, along with the ambulance industry. XTI Aerospace says it has 700 pre-orders for $10 million per aircraft. XTI Aerospace went public in March 2024 following a merger with Inpixon, which provides location tracking devices that factories can use to monitor equipment and inventory. Inpixon had gone public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in 2023. Chatlyn: $9.4 Million Chatlyn, which provides AI-powered guest management tech for hoteliers, has raised $9.4 million (€8 million) in a series A round. Smedvig Ventures led the round, with support from bus company Blaguss, individual investors Andreas Burike (AnyDesk founder) and Mathias Hiebeler (former owner of Grob aircraft, acquired by Helsing), and a group of angel investors. Vienna-based Chatlyn says its tech helps automate hotel operations, including front desk, reservations, marketing, guest services, and guest communication. Features include a public-facing AI assistant for booking, an AI chatbot for hotel guests, translation for more than 35 languages, and more. The startup says its tech is live in more than 1,000 properties, including St. Regis Mauritius, Singer Palace Rome, and InterContinental properties. The funding will go toward product development, geographic expansion, and hiring. StayVista: $4.7 Million StayVista, a property manager and booking site for luxury vacation rentals in India, has raised $4.7 million (400 million Indian rupees) in series B funding. JSW Ventures led the round, with support from DSG Consumer Partners and Capri Global Family Office. Mumbai-based StayVista says it manages 1,000 properties and has hosted more than 1 million guests. The funding will go toward expansion into new cities, hiring, and improving customer experience. Winalist: $1.2 Million Winalist, an online marketplace for booking ticketed experiences related to wine and spirits, has raised $1.2 million (€1 million) in seed funding. Investors included Plug and Play Ventures, Portugal Ventures, and Vessoa Private Equity. France-based Winalist says it partners with more than 1,700 operators in 10 countries. Users can book winery visits, tastings, private wine-pairing dinners, vineyard day-tours, and more. The funding will go toward opening a new branch in Porto, Portugal, as well as hiring, marketing, and increasing operational support for partners.
