Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Trademarks Voice to Fight AI Deepfakes Ahead of Elections

First Major Politician to Trademark Voice Against AI Deepfakes

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has filed a trademark application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to protect her voice against AI-generated deepfakes1

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. The application, filed on October 5 and currently under review, includes a four-second audio recording of Meloni repeating the phrase "Io sono Giorgia Meloni" ("I am Giorgia Meloni") twice3

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. While entertainers like Taylor Swift and Italian singer Giusy Ferreri have previously sought to trademark voice samples, Meloni is the first major politician known to take this legal action1

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. The recorded phrase echoes her famous 2019 political rally declaration that became widely known in Italy and inspired a viral dance remix, later serving as the title of her 2021 autobiography4

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Election Interference and Rising Deepfake Threats

The trademark voice application comes as Italy prepares for what experts predict will be a bitterly fought general election next year, where Meloni will seek a second term while facing challenges from both the center-left opposition and a new far-right party led by former military general Roberto Vannacci1

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. Giovanni Orsina, head of political science at Rome's Luiss University, stated: "Italy is entering an election campaign that is going to be very bloody in many ways. It's going to be nasty—it's very clear. She is going to be the arch-enemy...from the right and from the left. My simple take is that she decided that she is going to be targeted a lot, and she is doing what she can to defend herself"1

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. Italian social media has recently been awash with deepfake videos that falsely show the prime minister promoting investment schemes1

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. Concern has been mounting about the potential impact of AI-driven misinformation in influencing the election contest, the first in Italy since rapid advances in generative AI have changed the information landscape. Clones of the prime minister's voice have already been circulated in political advertisements suggesting voters should vote her out of office1

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Legal Strategy and Platform Accountability

Guido Scorza, a lawyer and expert on new technologies, explained that trademarking her voice would give Meloni stronger tools to battle unauthorized AI replicas circulating on social media, as platforms are more responsive to complaints of trademark violations than other types of grievances. "It is certainly easier to get content removed from a platform by claiming that the content contains your trademark, rather than by claiming that the content contains your personal data, represented by your voice," Scorza said1

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. Italian media reported that even if the EUIPO application is approved, the trademark will not automatically prevent AI-generated imitations of her voice, though it could create additional legal obstacles for those seeking to replicate it and provide an additional legal tool against unauthorized use2

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. However, Gianni Riotta, director of the Italian Digital Media Observatory, expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of this approach: "The scale is humongous—they [platforms] can take it down and it will pop up the next day. It's a game of whack-a-mole. The real merit of her action is to raise awareness. But it will not really be effective"1

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Ongoing Battle Against Manipulated Content

Manipulated images of Meloni have repeatedly circulated online in recent years and have at times been shared as authentic, including deepfake pornographic images showing her sitting on a bed in her underwear2

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. In 2024, Meloni launched a civil action against a man from Sardinia accused of creating and posting online deepfake pornographic images using her face, with the case remaining pending before an Italian court2

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. Meloni has repeatedly denounced such material as part of efforts to spread falsehoods and target individuals, urging users to verify content before sharing it online. She has warned that deepfakes can "deceive, manipulate and harm anyone," adding in May after fake images surfaced: "I can defend myself, but many others cannot"3

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Growing Global Movement for Legal Protections

Meloni's move reflects a broader trend of public figures seeking legal protections against AI cloning as governments, regulators and public figures grapple with the rapid spread of artificial intelligence tools capable of convincingly replicating voices and images3

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. Pop star Taylor Swift was among the most prominent targets of deepfakes in 2024, after sexually explicit AI-generated images falsely depicting her spread widely online, fueling calls for stronger legal protections against unauthorized digital replicas3

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. Actor Scarlett Johansson also raised concerns about AI-generated voices after objecting to an OpenAI chatbot voice that she said sounded "eerily similar" to her own, though OpenAI denied intentionally imitating Johansson's voice and later withdrew the feature3

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. In Japan last week, a court awarded legal protection to the human voice for the first time in a case involving a popular Japanese anime voice actor who demanded that TikTok close an account over its unauthorized use of an AI clone of his trademark baritone3

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. Matthew McConaughey was one of the first major celebrities to use trademark registrations to secure rights to voice clips and motion elements5

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. While anti-disinformation activists have appealed to Italy's political parties to eschew AI-generated disinformation in the campaign, not all have agreed to these terms1

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. Watch how Meloni's trademark application progresses through EUIPO review and whether it establishes a precedent for other political leaders facing similar threats from disinformation and manipulated content as election cycles intensify globally.