YouTube announced on April 21 its expansion of its likeness detection technology to the entertainment industry – which includes talent agencies, management companies and the celebrities they represent.
The tool, which requires a celebrity to upload their likeness, will flag potentially infringing content – such as a star playing a role in fan-generated content – for possible takedown.
Likeness detection
YouTube developed a solution to concerns surrounding the proliferation of AI deepfakes, where anyone’s likeness can be used to generate content without their knowledge or consent.
According to the platform, likeness detection works similarly to Content ID: it looks for AI-generated content with a participant’s likeness, such as a deepfake of their face, and gives them the power to find it and request removal.
“We’re excited that celebrities and entertainers are now eligible to access this tool, regardless of whether they have a YouTube channel,” the company said in a statement.
YouTube first began testing the tool in 2024, then expanded it a few months later to some of the most prominent creators on its platform, and earlier this year to selected politicians and public officials.
Now, the doors are officially open for those most at risk of having their livelihoods damaged by AI misuse.
“I would think of it as a foundational layer of responsibility,” said Mary Ellen Coe, YouTube’s chief business officer, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“We’ve been working on this for quite some time since the genesis of thinking through AI tools and the implications on the platform…
“Frankly, we have not seen the vectors that are even possible, and we are working very closely with talent agencies and third-party management companies to make sure that public figures can actually get ahead of this before something negative happens.”
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A wake-up call
The timing of the tool’s expansion comes as the entertainment industry grapples with continued growth of deepfakes across various platforms.
When OpenAI launched the Sora app (its video generator counterpart), a barrage of popular characters and intellectual property flooded it, including familiar faces from actors playing film and TV characters and historic figures like Martin Luther King Jr., who had their AI likenesses puppeteered by its users.
In February, videos created by Seedance 2.0 featuring Brad Pitt fighting Tom Cruise flooded the internet.
Here is how the new technology works: A celebrity, creator or public figure (or more likely their agent, manager or another member of their team) opts in, and uploads their likeness into the system.
The celebrity can have their own YouTube channel, or they may not have a public-facing YouTube page, but can still opt in. The system then scans YouTube and flags potential replicas for that celebrity’s team to review. They can choose to request removal.
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