TikTok bans deepfakes of private individuals and wants labels for other deepfakes

TikTok has introduced additional rules for ‘synthetic and manipulated media’, which includes deepfakes, for example. For example, certain manipulated content must have a sticker or caption and deepfakes of private individuals are no longer allowed.

Artificial intelligence can do it according to TikTok make it more difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction, which entails ‘both social and individual risks’. Therefore, TikTok posts that show realistic scenes with synthetic or manipulated content must clearly state this. This statement can be made, for example, with a sticker or caption containing the words artificial, fake, not real or edited.

The platform also prohibits creating synthetic content with the likeness of ‘real private figures’. Deepfakes with friends or family members, for example, are no longer allowed. TikTok does allow deepfakes based on public figures, such as celebrities and politicians.

The platform says it does not want such public figures “to become the subject of abuse or for people to be misled about political or financial issues.” Users are therefore not allowed to create deepfakes of public figures if that content is used for expressions of support ‘or conflicts with other policies’. By the latter, TikTok refers to, among other things, hate speech, sexual exploitation or serious forms of intimidation.

Misleading users with content such as deepfakes was already prohibited, but TikTok has now expanded and clarified these rules. Recently, deepfakes have increasingly appeared on social media, in which the voice is adjusted with artificial intelligence, so that the deepfake appears more realistic. TikTok’s new policy takes effect on April 21.