Deepfake Disclosure Rules: What Counts and What You Must Do
Article 3(60)'s two-part deepfake test, the deployer's disclosure duty, and the narrow exemptions for art, satire, and editorial content.
Last updated 2026-09-12.
The two-part legal test
Article 3(60) of the EU AI Act defines a "deepfake" with a specific two-part test. Both conditions have to be true — meeting only one doesn't count:
- The content resembles a real, identifiable person, place, or event — not a generic or fantastical figure or setting.
- It could reasonably appear authentic or truthful to a viewer — realistic enough that someone could mistake it for genuine, unaltered footage or a real photograph.
An obviously stylized, cartoonish, or clearly fantastical AI image usually fails the second condition and isn't a legal deepfake, even if it depicts a real person. A realistic AI photo of a real-looking scene or person, on the other hand, likely meets both.
Whose duty is it — and what does it require
The deepfake disclosure duty under Article 50(4) sits with the deployer — the party using the AI system to produce or distribute the content — not the provider of the underlying AI tool. See our provider vs. deployer guide if you're unsure which one you are.
If your content meets the test, you must disclose that it's artificially generated or manipulated clearly and perceivably, at first exposure — a visible label on an image, an audible notice for audio, something a viewer actually encounters without needing special tools or technical knowledge to detect it. A machine-readable mark embedded by the AI tool's provider (a C2PA manifest, for example) is not sufficient on its own to satisfy this — see our C2PA guide for why.
Satire and fiction: adapted disclosure, not exemption
This is where most confusion happens: satirical, artistic, or fictional deepfake content is not exempt from the disclosure duty. What changes is the form the disclosure takes — an appropriate, unobtrusive method (labeling, credits, a description) that doesn't interrupt the display or enjoyment of the work, rather than a full waiver of the obligation. You still have to disclose; you just get more flexibility in how.
If you already have a disclosure
Having an existing disclosure doesn't automatically mean you're done — it has to actually meet the bar: clear, perceivable without extra tools, and shown at first exposure, not buried in a caption or a linked policy page. Worth double-checking against those three criteria specifically rather than assuming a label of any kind counts.
Check a specific image
If you have a specific image and want an assessment against this exact test — including whether your existing disclosure (if any) is likely sufficient — signator.ai's free checker runs through it directly and tells you what, if anything, is missing.