Cate Blanchett stood before the European Parliament in Brussels to unveil a free online tool designed to give individuals control over how artificial intelligence systems use their identity. Called the Human Consent Registry, the platform allows anyone to set the terms under which AI can employ their name, image, voice, likeness, and movement. The launch event, hosted by Bulgarian MEP Eva Maydell of the European People's Party, also drew support from renowned director Steven Soderbergh.
The Registry's Mechanics
The Human Consent Registry operates on a simple traffic-light principle. Users can grant full permission for AI to use their identity, grant permission subject to specific conditions, or prohibit use entirely. Registration is free for individuals acting on their own behalf. The system also accommodates third parties such as agents, guilds, and managers who need to route requests through an approved pathway. RSL Media, the nonprofit behind the registry, plans to eventually extend the tool to cover creative works, characters, and brands.
A Personal and Political Statement
Blanchett framed the initiative as a matter of property rights. "Your identity is your IP in the age of AI, and every person deserves the right to decide how AI can or cannot use it," she declared. The choice of the European Parliament as the venue was deliberate: it is the institution that shaped and adopted the EU AI Act, the world's first comprehensive artificial intelligence law. Maydell described the registry as "a tool that makes rights transparent, scales trust, and keeps human creativity at the centre of technological progress."
Growing Concerns Over AI and Identity
The registry addresses a grievance that has moved from theoretical to concrete. Days before the Brussels launch, singer SZA publicly criticized musicians who support what she called "this degenerate shit," after discovering that more than 200 of her songs had been fed into AI training sets without her consent. Actor Matthew McConaughey has taken the property argument to its logical extreme by trademarking his image, voice, and his famous "alright, alright, alright" catchphrase. These incidents highlight a broader unease within the creative community about the unregulated use of personal data and artistic output by AI companies.
Broader Context: The Fight Over Copyright and AI Training
The launch marks the latest step in a campaign Blanchett has been waging for over a year. In March 2025, she joined Paul McCartney, Ben Stiller, and more than 400 artists in an open letter to the Trump administration urging it not to roll back copyright protections. The letter directly challenged proposals from OpenAI and Google arguing that U.S. copyright law should allow AI companies to train on copyrighted material without permission or payment—a battle that has only intensified since. RSL Media's own launch in May drew support from a long roster of Hollywood names, including Javier Bardem, Viola Davis, Tom Hanks, Helen Mirren, and Meryl Streep. At that time, Blanchett warned, "AI technologies are expanding rampantly, essentially unchecked and unregulated. In order for humans to remain in front of these technologies, consent must be the first consideration."
The Challenge of Enforcement
What the Human Consent Registry cannot yet do is compel AI developers to honor its terms. Its core premise is that a clear, machine-readable record of who has consented to what will give AI companies something they currently lack: a single, authoritative place to check. Whether those companies choose to consult the registry is the next, unanswered question. The registry represents an attempt to shift the default from opt-out to opt-in, placing the burden of compliance on developers rather than on individuals who may not even know their data is being used. It also provides legal clarity for those who do wish to license their identity, creating a transparent framework for negotiations.
Implications for the Creative Industries
The timing of the registry is significant. The rapid advancement of generative AI has made it possible to create convincing deepfakes, clone voices, and generate entire performances using only a few minutes of source material. For actors, musicians, and other artists, the ability to control their digital likeness is no longer a luxury but a necessity. The registry could serve as a template for industry-wide standards, potentially influencing how guilds and unions negotiate with studios and streaming platforms. It also raises questions about the future of digital estate planning: what happens to a person's AI consent preferences after they die?
Technical and Legal Dimensions
From a technical perspective, the registry relies on cryptographically secure records that can be verified and updated. RSL has designed the platform to be interoperable with emerging AI training protocols, allowing developers to programmatically check consent before ingesting data. Legally, the registry does not create new rights but rather helps enforce existing ones under privacy laws such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the newly adopted AI Act. In the United States, where federal copyright law is still being tested, the registry could provide a contractual basis for consent that holds weight in court. Several U.S. states are also considering bills that would require AI companies to obtain explicit consent before using personal likenesses, and a tool like this could become a standard compliance mechanism.
Celebrity Support and Public Reception
The broad coalition of celebrities backing the registry underscores the cross-industry concern. Directors, writers, and producers have joined the effort, recognizing that the issue extends beyond actors to anyone whose work can be replicated by AI. The registry has received positive initial coverage from tech and entertainment media, though some critics point out that it places the onus on individuals to register rather than on companies to stop scraping data. Others question whether a voluntary system can effectively regulate an industry that moves as fast as AI development. Nevertheless, the registry signals a growing demand for tools that empower individuals rather than leaving them at the mercy of opaque corporate algorithms.
What Comes Next
RSL Media plans to roll out additional features over the coming months, including support for group registrations, a public API for developers, and integration with content management systems used by studios. The nonprofit is also exploring partnerships with digital rights organizations to help educate the public about how AI uses their data. In parallel, Blanchett and Maydell are lobbying for stronger legal protections at both the European and national levels. The Human Consent Registry may be just one piece of a much larger puzzle, but it represents a concrete step toward establishing consent as a foundational principle in the age of artificial intelligence.
Source: TNW | Insider News