Japan court rules human voice is protected in TikTok AI case

A Tokyo court ruled on Wednesday that the human voice is legally protected in Japan following a high-profile case involving an anime voice actor who sued TikTok over videos featuring what he claimed was an AI clone of his distinctive baritone voice. The decision, while a partial victory for Kenjiro Tsuda, who is renowned for his roles in popular franchises such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Yu-Gi-Oh!, did not lead to the removal of the videos in question.

The court determined that the unauthorized use of a performer's voice can be seen as an infringement on publicity rights. AI imitation has become a growing concern among performers globally, causing unrest in Japan's animation industry, where voice actors are often revered as much as their characters. This lawsuit marks the first in Japan to defend an individual's vocal identity against AI-generated copies, centering around videos narrated by Tsuda's deep and lustrous voice.

The court dismissed Tsuda's request for the videos to be taken down, as the anonymous user behind the account had removed them months after the lawsuit began. The ruling has sparked discussions among Japanese voice actors about the potential decline of the industry due to AI voice mimicry, with many supporting Tsuda's campaign against unapproved AI voice cloning on social media.