YouTube has announced the expansion of its cutting-edge "likeness detection" technology, designed to identify AI-generated content like deepfakes, to individuals within the entertainment sector.
This technology operates on principles similar to YouTube's established Content ID system, which identifies copyrighted material in user-uploaded videos, enabling rights holders to either request content removal or participate in the video's revenue.
Likeness detection extends this functionality specifically to simulated faces. Its primary purpose is to safeguard creators and public figures from unauthorized use of their identity, a prevalent issue for celebrities whose likeness is frequently exploited in fraudulent advertisements.
Initially introduced to a select group of YouTube creators in a pilot program last year, the technology saw broader expansion this spring to include politicians, government officials, and journalists.
Currently, YouTube confirms the technology's availability to the entertainment industry, encompassing talent agencies, management companies, and the celebrities they represent. The initiative has garnered support from prominent agencies such as CAA, UTA, WME, and Untitled Management, all of whom provided valuable feedback on the new tool.
Importantly, an entertainer is not required to possess their own YouTube channel to utilize this likeness detection tool.
Instead, the feature actively scans for AI-generated content, identifying visual matches to an enrolled participant’s face. Participants then have the option to request video removal citing privacy policy violations, submit a copyright removal request, or take no action. YouTube clarifies that not all content will be removed, as its policies permit parody and satire.
The company has indicated that future enhancements to the technology will include support for audio detection.
In a related effort, YouTube has also been a vocal proponent of similar federal protections, specifically supporting the NO FAKES Act in Washington D.C. This proposed legislation aims to regulate the use of AI in creating unauthorized recreations of an individual's voice and visual likeness.
While the company has not yet disclosed the total number of AI deepfake removals facilitated by the tool to date, it did state in March that the volume of such removals remained "very small."
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