someone can certainly sue you for making a deepfake. It is federally and it tends to also be statewide unlawful to make a sexualized deepfakes of individuals. Now if it's not a sexualized deepfake, there are other deepfakes that can fall under this. If it appears that this individual is saying or doing something that could come off as defamatory, you can open yourself up to liability there. If you are using the deepfake to profit, you can infringe upon someone's name and likeness. Sometimes if you profit off of it, it puts you even further at risk. I would say certainly steer clear of making any deepfakes of anyone, especially any sexualized deepfakes, because this is unlawful under federal law. There are deepfake specific laws now and it can also be unlawful under image-based sexual abuse laws. So stay safe. Don't do anything that feels unethical because if it's unethical, it's most likely unlawful or we will find ways to use old laws to make it unlawful. So just be careful out there. Do not make deepfakes. I would definitely stay clear and stay safe and stay out of trouble.
