Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is the first major politician to apply to trademark her voice to protect herself against Artificial Intelligence (AI) deepfakes. She has filed an application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and it is listed on their website. The prime minister's office has confirmed the application. Meloni recorded a four-second audio in which, in Italian, she says "Io sono Giorgia”, I am Giorgia Meloni, twice.
Meloni is not the first to protect her identity from unauthorized use by AI platforms:
1.0 In January 2026, US actor Matthew McConaughey led the way by trademarking his image and voice.
2.0 Singer Taylor Swift also, in April 2026, submitted three trademark applications in the US, one using a photo of herself on stage during her Eras Tour, and the other two being audio clips of her introducing herself while promoting her last album.
In August 2026, over 80 performers asked UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce legislation giving every person in the UK the legal right to own their voice. The group included actors such as Matt Lucas, Hugh Bonneville and Nicola Coughlan, who called for greater protection against AI using their voices.
Voice clones are created by training AI on recordings of real people. Quick versions can be made from a few seconds of audio, but high-quality copycats tend to require hours.
Meloni's decision to trademark her voice comes ahead of Italy's general elections next year. The phrase "Io sono Giorgia" was the title of Meloni's 2021 autobiography and is associated with the prime minister's political campaigns. In 2024, Meloni sought €100,000 (£84,920) in damages after deepfake porn videos of her were uploaded online.
A deepfake image is one in which the face of one person is digitally added to the body of another. In recent years, deepfake porn has become commonplace on the internet, and victims have spoken out about the trauma it has caused them.
More recently, in May this year, Meloni warned of the dangers of deepfakes as several AI-generated images of her wearing lingerie were circulating online. In a post on social media, Meloni added: "The point, however, goes beyond me. Deepfakes are a dangerous tool because they can deceive, manipulate, and strike anyone. I can defend myself. Many others cannot."
This article used AI to craft the content and is shared at no charge for educational and informational purposes only.
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