Commercial Exploitation of Identity through AI and Social Media

The personalities of public and ordinary people are exploited through AI on social media without their permission for social interaction and trade of content in exchange for likes, follows and monetisation on social media. This phenomenon confirms that a person’s image has social, economic, and commercial value. Social media has highlighted that value through data driven platforms that feed AI training systems and disseminate AI-generated content. The value in personality underlies the protection of the right to identity today more than ever. The right to identity is dual in nature. On the one hand, the right is rooted in personality and the ability to control how a person’s image is used in the public domain. On the other hand, the right pertains to a commercial aspect of a personality, which can be exploited through AI-generated and AI-assisted advertising, branding, marketing and malicious communications such as deepfakes. The commercial exploitation of identities through AI and social media require that we revisit the interpretation of commercial gain received through content posted on social media. The legal concept of commercial exploitation can be developed beyond monetary gain using an economically, socially and technologically advanced interpretation.

In this talk, Dr Nomalanga Mashinini will discuss the South African legal framework on identity protection in an AI and social media context. She further unpacks whether the existing remedies provided by statutory law, common law and social media policies can effectively satisfy claims relating to the infringement of the right to identity through social media memes. The findings from South Africa are compared to the legal positions in the United Kingdom, and selected states in the United States of America.  

Dr Nomalanga Mashinini is a senior lecturer in cyber law at the University of Witwatersrand School of Law. Her research focus is on the protection of image rights around the globe. She explores the interplay and conflict between artificial intelligence and social media regulation, and their influence on the misappropriation, falsification, and commercial exploitation of individuals' identities. Nomalanga hosts the podcast, 'Image Rights by N Mashinini’ - the only podcast in the world with a sole focus on image rights. The podcast hosts international experts of legal scholars and practitioners and has been downloaded in over 56 countries and over 250 cities in the world. Nomalanga is a Wits Chancellor’s Fellow under the 2023 cohort of the Female Academic Leaders Fellowship NPC; she is a member of the South African Artificial Intelligence Association; and she recently joined the organising committee of the International Conference on AI Research. 

Registration is required for this event. 
 

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