The party is over for those who used
applications to have their favorite characters sing cumbias or read
questionable texts on the internet. After months of intense protests by
the anime industry, Japan's Ministry of Justice finally
struck a blow on the table and released new legal guidelines. This document
officially states that a person's voice is an indisputable symbol of their
personality and is therefore strictly protected by civil publicity rights, with
exactly the same legal weight as their own name or face.
This historic update responds directly to the
alarming wave of AI-generated videos and audios that used the
vocal tones of famous seiyuus and singers without asking
permission. Under the new interpretation of the law, creating and posting
material that impersonates a voice actor for monetary gain on social
media is a direct violation. And be careful, because the law does not
leave blank spaces: even if the creator of the video does not generate direct
economic gains, the simple fact of using the power of attraction of a famous
voice to farm views or get followers is considered a crime
that commercially harms the original talent.
The consequences for those who decide to ignore
this warning will make more than one in the community tremble.
The victims of this digital appropriation will be able to demand millions in
compensation for economic losses and force the immediate removal of the
content. In addition, AI platforms and developers who promote the cloning of
specific voices as a selling point will also face legal liability. As a curious
fact, the ministry made a rather logical exception: imitations made by humans,
such as comedians who parody a character for pure entertainment, will remain
completely legal, demonstrating that the central problem was always the
indiscriminate use of machines.
Taking into account that the internet is
flooded with viral videos with covers made by artificial intelligence
