2025 AI Policy

It is no secret that the amount of AI-generated content and deepfakes has accelerated rapidly. Whether AI is encountered by scrolling on social media or asking for assistance on tasks, it has become nearly avoidable. Globally, governments have scrambled to keep up with this rapid pace of innovation. Lawmakers worldwide are drafting new rules to label, restrict, or even punish harmful AI content, with a focus on realistic deepfakes. From India to Denmark to the United States, this year has emphasized deepfake policy as an urgent global priority. 

Deepfakes have evolved rapidly over the years into a political and social threat. AI-generated images of public figures, fake speeches, cloned voices in scams, and explicit deepfakes have increased, forcing the government to intervene. Many researchers, such as Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI warn against the dangers of policy lagging behind innovation. They urge lawmakers to build rules before it is too late.

On a global scale, India is one of the leaders of regulatory change. The government proposed strict rules requiring AI-generated or enhanced media to contain visible labels of AI. Platforms must cover at least 10% of the surface area of the visual display with an indicator of AI usage, which places responsibilities on corporations like OpenAI, Meta, and Google. This policy is among one of the first attempts worldwide to place a quantifiable visibility standard. India has an extremely high amount of Internet users at nearly 1 billion, so the stakes are high in a climate where fake news risks stirring up disagreements and unrest. If the rules are correctly implemented, the number of lawsuits made by Bollywood stars and other public figures is expected to decrease. However, critics warn it could lead to censorship and be technically impossible to enforce due to cooperation of social media companies. 

Across Europe, emphasis is placed on protecting citizens from having their identities stolen by AI. Denmark, for example, announced its plans to update copyright law, giving people legal rights over their own face and voice, facilitating the ability to take down content shared without consent. Italy became the first country in the European Union to pass a broad AI law regulating how synthetic content can be created and distributed. The law ensures that the economic and social risks are considered as well as the impact of AI on fundamental rights. It introduces rules for the application of AI in several areas such as education, government offices, healthcare, and sports. Europe’s approach against AI mirrors its stance with past technology regulation, emphasizing acting early and strictly.

Although federal lawmakers are still debating national AI regulations, the state governments have been moving quickly. States passed 64 deepfake laws in 2025 alone, targeting election deepfakes, political ads, and non-consensual adult content. California has the most aggressive legislation, with penalties of up to $250,000 for producing explicit AI-generated content of minors. As a result, the United States has a patchwork of rules, an uneven enforcement of aggressive legislation. Because these laws vary on a state level, they are more difficult to enforce. 

Like the United States’ fragmentation of AI policy, every major country experiments with different strategies to combat the usage of AI for inappropriate contexts. These strategies vary from required watermarks, deepfake bans during election seasons, and transparency requirements. While countries are attempting to protect their citizens, everyone is regulating differently, and deepfakes do not respect a nation’s borders. Deepfake regulation still faces challenges. Industry officials argue that labeling requirements like India’s are unrealistic and virtually impossible to enforce. Governments also run the risk of over-censoring online if they force platforms to scan through all content. Additionally, technology evolves faster than legal systems, and as it continues to expand, it will be difficult for legislation to keep up. The most effective solutions will require global cooperation to create cohesive legislation, as well as laws that protect the identities of users without unintentionally silencing speech and media. 

2025 is the first year that countries worldwide have addressed the dangers of deepfakes. Countries are moving quickly and aggressively in policy against the dangers of AI, and the urgency is finally clear. Teenagers and children are at a heightened risk for falling victim to explicit deepfake images, and the policy that the governments build today will define our safety, especially online.

Sources

India Proposes Strict Rules to Label AI Content Citing Growing Risks | Reuters, www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/india-proposes-strict-it-rules-labelling-deepfakes-amid-ai-misuse-2025-10-22/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025. 

Lynch, Shana. “Top Scholars Call for Evidence-Based Approach to AI Policy.” Stanford HAI, hai.stanford.edu/news/top-scholars-call-for-evidence-based-approach-to-ai-policy. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025. 

Hurry, Dominic. “Denmark Eyes New Law to Protect Citizens from Ai Deepfakes.” The Associated Press, 11 Nov. 2025, www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/denmark-eyes-new-law-to-protect-citizens-from-ai-deepfakes/. 

Italy Becomes the First EU Member to Pass Thorough Legislation on AI Use, www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/latest-news/today-in-security/2025/september/italy-ai-law/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025. 

Artificial Intelligence 2025 Legislation, www.ncsl.org/technology-and-communication/artificial-intelligence-2025-legislation. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025. 

Client Alert: California Continues to Lead on AI with New Legislation and Enforcement Steps | Jenner & Block LLP | Law Firm, www.jenner.com/en/news-insights/publications/client-alert-california-continues-to-lead-on-ai-with-new-legislation-and-enforcement-steps. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.