A high-profile Japanese anime voice actor has taken TikTok to court over videos he says feature an artificial intelligence clone of his “lustrous” baritone.
The lawsuit filed by Kenjiro Tsuda (pic), known for his starring roles in mega-franchises including Jujutsu Kaisen and Yu-Gi-Oh!, is believed to be the country’s first seeking to defend an individual’s vocal identity against AI-generated copies, with a verdict due on Wednesday.
Tsuda is demanding TikTok remove a slew of videos narrated by a distinctively “deep” and “lustrous” voice that the 55-year-old says can only be his.
The platform however argues it is a “generic male voice” whose perceived similarity to Tsuda’s is subjective at best, according to court records.
An actor’s voice “is the result of years of rigorous training and apprenticeship” to hone talent, Yuko Sasaki, executive director of the Japan Actors Union, said.
“It’s something we spend lots of time and money perfecting,” said Sasaki, a fellow voice actor, adding that “we support Tsuda wholeheartedly”.
An anonymous account, whose picture resembled a Jujutsu Kaisen character dubbed by Tsuda, posted the videos in question.
They combined images and seemingly AI-generated speech about urban legends, occult phenomena and conspiracy theories.
The account at one point boasted more than 200,000 subscribers and would have brought in upwards of 500,000 yen (RM13,030) in monthly revenue, the legal complaint argued.
Parallel to the lawsuit, Sasaki and other Japanese voice actors have launched a campaign, called “No More”, against using generative AI to mimic performers without permission.
“Our industry can be crushed” if a court win for TikTok triggers “unbridled” AI voice cloning on social media, said actor Bin Shimada, who is part of the campaign group.
It is also fast becoming a global issue.
“In many countries copyright and data protection laws are not being adequately adapted” to protect performers from AI clones, the International Federation of Actors said last year.
OpenAI was forced to apologise in 2024 to star Scarlett Johansson over a synthetic voice that sounded like her, released after she declined to work with them on the project. — AFP
