How to Report AI-Generated Videos That Resemble You on YouTube

The video-sharing giant has strengthened YouTube's privacy guidelines to address concerns and enhance user protection.

YouTube is taking a stand against the growing threat of deepfake videos, a troubling trend in AI, by providing users with a more straightforward way to report such content.

The updated privacy guidelines outline the steps users should follow when they encounter "AI-generated or other synthetic content that looks or sounds like you."

These guidelines, designed to protect users and address privacy concerns, apply globally, regardless of individual countries' privacy laws.

Which Content Can Be Reported?

The YouTube Privacy Guidelines outline the conditions under which privacy violation notices can be filed, the factors considered when evaluating complaints, and who can submit these claims.

You can request the removal of a video if "someone has used AI to alter or create synthetic content that looks or sounds like you." The guidelines clarify that the content must depict a realistic altered or synthetic version of your likeness.

YouTube’s moderators will then assess complaints based on several factors. The content must be altered or synthetic, the subject must be uniquely identifiable, and it must appear realistic. Additionally, YouTube will consider if the video includes parody, satire, or has public interest value. If the video features a public figure, YouTube will evaluate whether it depicts them engaging in sensitive behavior, such as criminal activity, violence, or endorsing a product or political candidate.

How to Report a Privacy Violation?

If you believe an AI-generated video on YouTube violates these guidelines, you can report it by following these steps:

1. Visit the platform’s Privacy Complaint Process page.

2. Answer the screening questions. You’ll be prompted to consider if the video constitutes harassment, to contact the uploader directly first, and to review the Community Guidelines. There is also a warning against “abusing the privacy process.”

3. Click the “Report altered or synthetic content” button.

4. Complete and submit the complaint form with your personal details, information about the offending video, and any relevant supporting evidence.

YouTube will then notify the uploader of the privacy complaint and give them 48 hours to remove or edit their content. You will be notified if the uploader removes the video or if YouTube takes further action.

Who Can Report a Privacy Violation?

It's important to note that, in most cases, only the person directly affected can file a complaint. You can't file a complaint on behalf of someone else whose likeness has been used.

Exceptions include filing on behalf of children, vulnerable adults, the deceased, someone without internet access, or by a legal representative.

The person in the video must also be clearly identifiable.

“To be considered uniquely identifiable, there must be enough information in the video for others to recognize you. Just because you can identify yourself in the video doesn’t mean others can. A first name without additional context or a brief image likely wouldn’t qualify.” – YouTube Privacy Guidelines