MP questions image rights after AI ad uses family photo

People’s Party MP Sigurður Helgi Pálmason says a foreign company used an AI-altered photo of him and his father in a paid advertisement in Iceland. He plans to examine similar cases in his parliamentary work and consider whether clearer laws and remedies are needed to protect people’s rights to their own image, mbl.is reports.

Pálmason said on Facebook that he was shocked to see the advertisement, which used a family photo taken from his page. The image had been altered with artificial intelligence to show him and his father wearing the advertised half-zip jackets.

He said he eventually managed to get Facebook to remove the ad, which promoted the jackets in more than 30 styles. However, the company’s page remained online. Pálmason said the company appeared to have been established about a week earlier and registered abroad, and questioned what would stop it from using another photo in the same way.

He noted that, as an MP, he understands he is a public figure, but said the image was of him and his father, not a photo taken during his official duties. He also questioned whether people unfamiliar with him might believe he was endorsing a company he had never heard of.

Pálmason said AI has made it very easy to alter people’s photos and place them in a different context, while people have varying levels of familiarity with the technology. He also raised questions about the responsibility of social media companies, saying Facebook had accepted payment to show the advertisement and distribute it to people in Iceland.