Italy's Meloni follows pop stars in seeking to trademark her voice to combat AI deepfakes

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has recently submitted an application to trademark her voice with the European Union's Intellectual Property Office, aiming to safeguard herself from AI-generated deepfakes. This filing, which includes a four-second audio recording of Meloni reciting the phrase "Io sono Giorgia Meloni" (I am Giorgia Meloni) in Italian, was reported by the EU office on Monday. The move comes amid growing concerns over the proliferation of AI tools capable of realistically replicating voices and images.

Meloni's application follows a series of instances where manipulated images of her have circulated online, sometimes masquerading as genuine. In one instance, a fake image depicted her in her underwear, while other manipulated images have been circulating online for years. Meloni has expressed concern about the potential for deepfakes to deceive, manipulate, and harm individuals, urging users to verify online content before sharing it.

The move by Meloni echoes the actions of other high-profile figures, such as pop star Taylor Swift, who faced deepfake threats in 2024, and Matthew McConaughey, who secured voice trademark rights. Scarlett Johansson also raised concerns about AI-generated voices, objecting to an OpenAI chatbot that sounded eerily similar to her. Johansson's objections led to the removal of the feature from OpenAI's platform.

In a separate case, Meloni previously sued a man over deepfake pornographic images featuring her likeness, a legal battle that remains ongoing. If Meloni's voice trademark is granted, it might provide an additional legal safeguard against unauthorized use of her voice, though it won't automatically prevent AI-generated imitations.