Denmark's culture minister tables a bill to stop the sharing of realistic digital imitations of people's faces and voices

Denmark's Ministry of Culture said on 8 October that culture minister Zenia Stampe “fremsætter i dag et lovforslag” (is tabling a bill today) to give stronger protection against digital imitations. The bill works by amending Danish copyright law, the ophavsretslov, so that realistic digital imitations of a person's appearance and voice, and of performers' performances, may not be shared.

There are exceptions for caricature, parody, satire and criticism of power and society. They do not cover misinformation that could cause serious harm.

Stampe said: “Teknologien udvikler sig lynhurtigt, så jeg håber, loven kan træde i kraft allerede ved årsskiftet.” (The technology is developing at lightning speed, so I hope the law can take effect as early as the turn of the year.) Parliament still has to pass it.

Euronews reports that the bill follows a broad political agreement reached in June 2025 under the then culture minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt. Denmark's route, using copyright rather than a criminal ban, gives people a property-style claim over their own likeness, which platforms can be asked to act on. Other governments drafting deepfake rules have watched it as a model.

• Confirmed The culture minister tabled a bill on 8 October amending copyright law to protect against the sharing of realistic digital imitations, with exceptions for parody, satire and social criticism. Kulturministeriet
• Claimed Stampe hopes the law can take effect at the turn of the year. Kulturministeriet
• Reported The bill follows a broad political agreement reached in June 2025 under Jakob Engel-Schmidt, Euronews reports. Euronews