Mills & Reeve takes on AI deepfakes with new campaign

The national law firm, which has a Leeds office, has created the My Name, My Face campaign for new ‘personality rights’ – with backing from footballers Cole Palmer and Lucy Bronze.

Law firm Mills & Reeve is taking on the rise of AI deepfakes, launching a national campaign for new laws to protect people’s image, voice and likeness. The firm – which has seven UK offices including Leeds – has created My Name, My Face, calling on the government to introduce ‘personality rights’: a single legal right letting individuals control how their identity is used. The campaign has already won backing from Chelsea and England footballers Cole Palmer and Lucy Bronze, with the firm’s Leeds-based intellectual property partner Alex Newman among those driving it.

Why This Matters For Leeds

Deepfakes can sound like a celebrity problem, but the gap Mills & Reeve is highlighting matters to any business. Brands, founders and executives can all have their image or voice faked for scams, fake endorsements or reputational attacks, with little clear legal recourse. A national firm using its Leeds base to help shape policy on it shows the city’s legal sector engaging with genuinely cutting-edge questions.

Why Mills & Reeve is taking on AI deepfakes

The firm argues that the law has not kept pace with the technology. Eight million deepfakes were shared online last year, up from 500,000 in 2023, according to government figures cited by Mills & Reeve. Yet anyone trying to challenge the misuse of their image must currently rely on a patchwork of copyright, trademark, data protection and ‘passing off’ law – rules never designed for an era in which a face or voice can be faked in seconds. My Name, My Face calls for a single, standalone right to fix that. Alex Newman, the firm’s Leeds-based IP partner, said UK law ‘does not currently provide a single, clear right that allows individuals to control how those elements of their identity are used’. The firm has previously advised Palmer on protecting his personal brand, including his ‘Cold Palmer’ nickname.

“It seems increasingly apparent that we need a single, standalone right allowing individuals to control the use of their image, voice or likeness.”

— Alex Newman, Partner, Mills & Reeve

A growing global concern

Concern over AI deepfakes is rising worldwide. Denmark plans to ban sharing deepfake content without consent, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has moved to trademark her voice, and a UK government consultation on ‘digital replicas’ is expected soon. Mills & Reeve’s campaign has drawn support well beyond the law: alongside Palmer and Bronze, backers include former Made in Chelsea star Louise Thompson, designer Tan France, the Professional Footballers’ Association and global players’ union FIFPRO. Bronze said no one ‘should have to worry that their face, likeness or reputation can be manipulated without their consent’, urging stronger protection ‘especially for women and girls’. For the firm’s Leeds office, it is a high-profile role in a debate that increasingly affects businesses as well as individuals.