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19 May 2023 / Oliver Lock
Issue: 8025 / Categories: Features , Profession , Artificial intelligence , Technology , Privacy , Defamation
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Deepfakes: can’t believe your eyes?

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Oliver Lock outlines some possible legal routes to stop the misuse of deepfake technology
  • The legal industry and beyond are grappling with how to tackle deepfakes, a technology that is rapidly evolving and can have an insidious impact on reputation and credibility.
  • There are current legal routes available, from privacy laws in the UK to image rights in the US that are arguably fit for purpose to tackle deepfakes.
  • However, it will take the combination of legal, technical, and societal efforts to prevent the creation and spread of deepfakes for nefarious purposes.

Former US president Donald Trump was arrested in New York on 4 April. However, you may be forgiven for initially thinking that he had been arrested two weeks earlier when videos emerged online appearing to show Trump yelling at and fighting off NYPD officers or, in another, breaking free from police officers while Melania and Donald Trump Jr shout in protest of his arrest. These videos have been viewed many millions of times.

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Tightening the screws on JCT terminations
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
NLJ this week: Old rules, fresh warnings in employment law
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
NLJ this week: The rise of the ‘ChatGPT client’ rattles the profession
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
NLJ this week: Online safety law at a crossroads
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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