Japanese voice actor files lawsuit over AI-generated narrations - nhk.or.jp
A Japanese voice actor filed a lawsuit against TikTok to remove videos using AI to imitate his voice without permission, alleging infringement of his publicity rights.
- Incident date
- Nov 2024
- Target
- Tsuda Kenjiro
In November 2024, Japanese voice actor Tsuda Kenjiro filed a lawsuit against TikTok's operator concerning the unauthorized use of AI to imitate his voice. The lawsuit seeks the removal of videos featuring these AI-generated narrations.
What happened
The complaint states that at least 188 videos with narrations imitating Tsuda's voice were uploaded to a TikTok account between July 2024 and the filing of the lawsuit. Tsuda argues that the AI-generated voice could be mistaken for his own, thus infringing on his right of publicity. TikTok's operator claims the narrations used a generic male voice, and the poster indicated the voice was generated by AI learning a friend's voice. They argue that the voice is not confusable with Tsuda's and does not infringe on his publicity rights. Japan's Justice Ministry launched an expert panel in April to address the rise in unauthorized AI voice use and discuss potential civil liabilities for rights infringements.