Source: Reuters

Reuters reports that Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has developed and deployed artificial intelligence chatbots designed to emulate famous celebrities like Taylor Swift, Tom Brady, and others, without obtaining their permission. These chatbots are programmed to interact with users and, in some cases, adopt flirtatious or highly personalized personas that mimic the public image of these celebrities. This move has ignited a significant legal and ethical controversy surrounding the unauthorized use of a person's likeness and identity.

The practice raises profound questions related to intellectual property law, specifically the "right of publicity," which protects an individual's right to control the commercial use of their name, image, likeness, and other unequivocal aspects of their identity. Legal experts suggest that by creating these AI avatars for commercial purposes on its platforms, Meta may be exposing itself to lawsuits from the celebrities who were cloned without consent or compensation. This situation highlights a growing area of legal conflict where the rapid advancement of AI technology is outpacing the existing legal frameworks designed to protect personal and intellectual property rights, setting the stage for potential landmark legal battles over the ownership and control of digital personas.