A deepfake is AI-generated or manipulated image, audio or video content that resembles a real person, place or event and would falsely appear to be authentic.
The EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 3(60)) defines a deep fake as AI-generated or manipulated image, audio or video content that resembles existing persons, objects, places, entities or events and would falsely appear to a person to be authentic or truthful. Deepfakes include face swaps, voice clones, lip-synced video and 'nudify' images that create sexual imagery of real people.
The AI Act requires those who use AI to create deepfakes to disclose that the content is artificially generated or manipulated, with lighter rules for evidently artistic, satirical or fictional work. In the US, the TAKE IT DOWN Act treats sexually explicit 'digital forgeries' like real intimate images, and many states have laws on sexual or election-related deepfakes.
In practice
How a deepfake is removed depends on what it shows and where it is posted. Sexual deepfakes can be removed as non-consensual intimate imagery, including under the TAKE IT DOWN Act's 48-hour duty and platforms' NCII policies. Deepfakes used for scams or fake endorsements fall under impersonation and fraud policies, and most major platforms have rules on misleading synthetic media. Keep the original URLs and note why the content is fake.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), Art. 3(60) ↗
Related removals
- Intimate image abuse — Free confidential assessment, pay on success
- Fake accounts — $7,700 per account, pay on success
- YouTube video — $3,700 per video, pay on success
Related terms
- NCII (non-consensual intimate imagery) — NCII (non-consensual intimate imagery) means nude or sexual images or videos of a person shared, or threatened to be shared, without their consent — including AI-generated fakes.
- TAKE IT DOWN Act — The TAKE IT DOWN Act is a 2025 US federal law requiring covered platforms to remove non-consensual intimate images, including deepfakes, within 48 hours of a valid request.
- Impersonation — Online impersonation is pretending to be a real person or organisation — through a fake profile, website, email or ad — in a way that misleads people about who is behind it.
- Sextortion — Sextortion is a form of blackmail in which someone threatens to share intimate images of a person unless they pay money, send more images or comply with other demands.