Vocal Identity Under Siege by AI Voice Cloning Technologies

2026-06-10

AI Summary

Generative AI–based voice cloning poses a significant challenge to the right to vocal identity, a dimension of personality rights inadequately protected under existing legal frameworks centered on personality and image rights. This study systematically compares, for the first time, the applicability of three major legal mechanisms—common law publicity rights, civil law personality rights, and data protection rights—in the context of AI voice cloning. Through case studies and a comparative rights-based analysis, the work elucidates the respective strengths and limitations of each regime. Building on this assessment, the paper proposes an integrative legal approach to safeguarding vocal identity, offering both a theoretical foundation and institutional innovations for developing normative frameworks suited to the generative AI era.

Abstract

The advent of sophisticated AI-driven voice cloning has brought to the fore critical legal and ethical challenges regarding the protection of vocal identity. Prompted by recent controversies - including the striking resemblance between OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o voice and that of Scarlett Johansson - this article examines how generative AI technologies undermine the unique value of the human voice and further complicate the legal questions surrounding personality right. Through a comparative analysis, the paper evaluates three principal legal frameworks: the right of publicity, personality rights, and the personal data protection right. Each framework - rooted in different legal traditions o offers distinct strengths and limitations in addressing the threats posed by AI-generated voice cloning. By analysing these doctrines' scope, remedies, and posthumous protections, the study offers a foundation for understanding how existing legal approaches may be applied to the evolving challenges of vocal identity in the era of generative AI.

Problem

• voice cloning
• vocal identity
• personality rights
• right of publicity
• generative AI

Innovation

• voice cloning
• vocal identity
• personality rights
• right of publicity
• generative AI