Japan Court Rules Human Voice Is Protected In TikTok AI Case

The Tokyo District Court ruled that a person's voice can be protected under Japan's publicity rights, in a lawsuit by voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda over TikTok videos allegedly using an AI copy of his voice. The court declined to order removal since the account had already deleted the content.

• Court said a voice can be symbolic of personality like a portrait
• Anonymous TikTok account posted over 180 videos with a similar voice
• Account had over 200,000 followers and may have earned over JPY500,000 monthly
• It is believed to be Japan's first lawsuit over AI voice cloning