Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has filed an application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to register her voice as a trademark, in order to protect herself from artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes. Reuters reports, UNN writes.
Details
The application, dated October 5 and confirmed by her office, contains a four-second audio recording in which Meloni repeats the phrase "I am Giorgia Meloni" twice in Italian.
"Io sono Giorgia" ("I am Giorgia") is the title of the prime minister’s 2021 autobiography, reflecting a famous statement Meloni made at a political rally in 2019, which was even turned into a disco track.
As the publication notes, altered images of Meloni have repeatedly been circulated online in recent years, sometimes being presented as genuine. One of them, in particular, depicted her on a bed wearing underwear.
Meloni condemned such material as part of campaigns to spread disinformation and attacks on people, urging users to verify content before sharing it. She stated that she could protect herself, but that many other people do not have that opportunity.
The EUIPO application is currently under review.
However, as Italian media point out, even if approved, the registration itself will not prohibit the use of her voice in AI-generated deepfakes, but it could create additional legal obstacles for those attempting to reproduce it.
In 2024, Meloni filed a civil lawsuit against a man from Sardinia who is accused of creating and publishing pornographic deepfakes featuring her face online. The case is still pending before an Italian court.