We stand at a very critical turning point. In a world where identity can be cloned, sold, manipulated, and weaponized, passivity is no longer an option. Protecting one’s personal image and likeness is essential not only to privacy, but to human dignity and self-determination. The alternative is a society where people become commodities, stripped of agency over their own identity.
Think about it: your face, your voice, even your mannerisms are more than just features — they are part of your essence. Yet AI tools today can mimic them with startling accuracy, generating fake videos or voices that make it seem like you said or did something you never did.
Without safeguards, these digital doppelgängers can damage reputations, spread misinformation, or even commit crimes. And the truth is, policies to protect our digital identity largely do not exist. Thus, there is an urgent need for comprehensive protection.
In fact, I would argue that every human being is entitled to “Identity sovereignty.” Each of us should have the right to say how our likeness, voice, and image are used. Entities should not be allowed to profit from or use (or misuse) someone’s likeness without permission, and if that right is violated, individuals must be able to demand immediate removal.
Denmark has already recognized this urgency and taken bold steps. In 2025, it moved to amend its Copyright Act so that every person would hold copyright-like rights over their bodily attributes — their face, voice, and appearance — with remedies against unauthorized AI replicas. The proposal also requires platforms to take swift action on takedown requests, while still leaving room for parody and satire. Like Denmark, the United States should be pushing to modernize copyright and publicity laws so that control over identity rests with the individual, not corporations or platforms.
Some progress has been made in the U.S., but it is limited in scope. The Tennessee “ELVIS Act” protects against AI-based voice impersonation, and the new federal “Take It Down Act” requires platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate deepfakes within 48 hours. These are steps in the right direction, but they don’t add up to the comprehensive, national protections we urgently need.
There are, however, additional frameworks emerging that are pointing us toward possible solutions. A proposal called the Digital Identity Rights Framework (DIRF) lays out protections across law, technology, and governance — from traceability and consent to accountability and monetization.
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), a respected industry voice, has endorsed DIRF as a comprehensive way to protect digital identities in agentic AI systems. This support is significant: it signals that leaders in both policy and technology are beginning to align on the importance of identity sovereignty.
Identity rests with the individual. And given the very real threats to identity posed by AI, it is imperative that digital identity be considered a federal right— a civil right. This means individuals — not tech companies, not data brokers — alone, have the right to their likeness and can decide when, where, and how it is used.
Technology can help enforce this right, with watermarks, provenance tools, and other mechanisms that allow us to track and trace how an image or voice is being replicated. And platforms that profit from user content must be held responsible for stopping misuse and responding quickly when violations occur.
The goal is simple: it is essential that we flip the current assumption. Right now, one’s likeness is often treated as “free to use” unless one can prove otherwise. Instead, the default should be that one’s likeness belongs to the individual— period. Consent must become the prerequisite, not the afterthought.
We know this is possible because Denmark is already showing the way, and because organizations like the CSA are lending support to frameworks like DIRF. What’s needed now is public demand and political will.
The call to action is clear. If we don’t claim ownership of our digital selves now, we risk waking up to a future where our identity— our very essence— can be cloned, manipulated, or exploited without consent or consequence.
However, it’s not too late to act. We can secure a future where identity sovereignty is not just a phrase, but a guaranteed right for every human being. Our likeness, our voice, our very presence belong to us. And if we do not even own the rights to our own essence, then by extension, we own nothing at all.
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Anita S. Lane – MPP (University of Michigan) is a former community-organizer-turned #TechPR maven whose commentary delivers insights that connect emerging technologies, societal impact, and the governance frameworks shaping our future. Anita is a charter member of CAIPA and serves as Sr. Policy Analyst. Connect with her on LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/anitaslane
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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect the official stance of Consumer AI Protection Advocates (CAIPA).
CAIPA’s mission is to empower consumers by advocating for responsible AI practices that safeguard consumer rights and interests across various sectors, including electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous vehicles (AVs), and robotics.
