CAVA ADVOCATES FOR THE PROTECTION OF CANADIANS' 3C RIGHTS

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

April 14, 2025

FEDERAL POLITICAL PARTIES MUST PROTECT CANADIAN VOICES

TORONTO – Today, the Canadian Association of Voice Actors (CAVA) has called upon all major political parties to enact legislation protecting the voice, image, name, and likeness (VINL) of ALL Canadians.

“It might come as a shock to many, but your voice can be cloned, copied, scraped, stolen and used without your permission in Canada.” said Tanya Buchanan, President of CAVA. “Advances in generative artificial intelligence technology mean that full voice clones can be created with only a few seconds of recording. This is not just an issue for voice actors, it is an issue for all Canadians.”

There are numerous ways in which this emerging technology can exploit and mislead everyday Canadians. A perfect example is the notorious ‘Grandparent Phone Scam’ where voice cloning is used to impersonate a grandchild’s voice to con the victim out of their hard-earned savings. Also, we have seen many examples of the voice and likeness of politicians replicated by AI, thereby eroding trust in real news.

CAVA supports the principles that every citizen should:

1. Have control over their voice, image, name, and likeness.

2. Be able to consent to the use of their voice, image, name, and likeness, and

3. Be compensated for the use of any digital reproduction of their voice, image, name, and likeness.

These are collectively known as 3C rights.

“It’s currently the Wild West out there and that creates uncertainty in an already uncertain time,” said Buchanan. “When the rights of Canadians are clarified it helps set the stage for a stronger creative economy that supports continued technological advances that are fair, informed and responsible.”

A letter has been sent to each of the major political parties requesting them to clarify their stance on this important issue.