Denmark's culture minister will put forward a bill on Thursday that would ban the digital replication and sharing of a person's lifelike likeness, including appearance and voice, in a bid to curb the spread of AI-generated "deepfake" content.

In a statement, Danish Culture Minister Zenia Stampe said videos and images altered by artificial intelligence can lead to the spread of false information and sow doubt about what is true. "One of the main goals of the bill is to prompt tech giants to swiftly remove such altered content, thereby minimizing the harm," she said.

The bill is intended to protect the general public as well as artists, preventing the latter's performances and works from being imitated and circulated without permission.

The proposal still requires approval from the Danish parliament. Stampe said she hopes the bill can take effect officially by the end of this year or early next year.