The Real Responsibility of a Fake Influencer: The Legal Status of AI Influencers

Imagine an influencer on social media who lives a seemingly perfect life, shares photos from different cities around the world, chats with their followers, and promotes products from various brands.

This influencer never gets tired, never ages, never gets involved in private life scandals, and flawlessly uses the brand's defined messages. Because such a person doesn't actually exist. Their appearance, voice, personality, and posts are created using artificial intelligence or computer-aided design technologies.

An AI influencer, holding a cosmetic product, could say:

“I’ve been using this serum for three weeks. The blemishes on my skin have completely disappeared.”

However, the AI character does not have a skin, personal experience, or the ability to use the product. Nevertheless, the consumer may mistake the character for a real person and perceive the advertisement as a genuine user experience.

This raises important legal questions:

Is an AI influencer considered a person under the law?
Can they enter into a contract with the brand?
Can the Advertising Board fine an AI character?
Who is responsible for misleading advertising?
Whose image and name are used by the AI influencer?
Which rights are violated if a real person's face or voice is used?
Who pays for the damages caused by AI-generated content?

Turkish law currently lacks a specific law that fully regulates the legal personality and responsibility of AI influencers. Proposals submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly under the name "Artificial Intelligence Law" are still under consideration in committee. Therefore, disputes are resolved by applying a combination of provisions from civil law, contract law, consumer law, advertising law, personal data protection, intellectual property, and unfair competition law.

What is an AI influencer?

An AI influencer is a virtual character whose appearance, voice, personality, and digital behavior are entirely or partially created by computer systems, who publishes content on social media, and influences the consumption behavior of their followers.

These characters do not share the same legal and technical structure. In practice, four basic models are encountered.

A completely fictional digital character

In this model, the character's face, body, name, background, and personality are designed from scratch. There is no direct link to a real person. Posts are created by designers, copywriters, social media managers, and artificial intelligence systems.

Virtual character portrayed by a real person

While the character's image is digital, their movements, facial expressions, or voice can be taken from a real actor. Motion capture, voice cloning, or facial reconstruction technologies can be used.

Digital twin of a real person

A digital copy of an artist, athlete, actor, or influencer is created by mimicking their face, voice, and behavior. This type of model carries the highest risk in terms of privacy rights and the protection of personal data.

Largely autonomous artificial intelligence character

Some of the character's posts, comments, and follower responses are not individually crafted by humans. The artificial intelligence system can generate content based on predetermined rules and data.

However, technical autonomy does not imply independent legal personality. The fact that an AI character can generate text without human intervention does not transform it into a legal person with rights and obligations.

Is an AI influencer considered a person under the law?

In Turkish law, individuals are divided into two main groups: natural persons and legal entities.

According to Article 8 of the Turkish Civil Code, every person has legal capacity. According to Article 28 of the same code, legal personality begins with the healthy and complete birth of a child. Legal entities such as companies, associations, and foundations acquire legal personality as a result of the incorporation procedures stipulated by law.

An AI influencer is not human and does not constitute one of the legal entities defined in the law. Therefore, in terms of current Turkish law:

He/She does not have legal capacity.
He cannot get into debt.
He cannot sign the contract.
They cannot file a lawsuit or be a defendant in their own name.
He cannot own any property.
They cannot be a taxpayer.
They cannot be the direct recipient of the administrative fine.
In the context of criminal law, he cannot be punished as a perpetrator.
They cannot leave an inheritance or be an heir.
The individual cannot hold the title of employee, employer, representative, or company partner.

Therefore, an AI influencer is not legally a "person"; it is a software program, digital character, commercial entity, communication tool, or brand element.

A character posting on social media, "I've signed a deal with a brand," does not legally constitute a genuine contract. The party to the contract is the real person or company managing the character.

Whom does an AI influencer act on behalf of?

There are usually multiple actors behind an AI influencer:

The company that owns the character,
The natural or legal person who manages the social media account,
The software company that developed the artificial intelligence system,
The design or production team that prepared the visuals,
Advertising agency,
The advertising brand,
The provider of the artificial intelligence model,
Social media platform.

Legal responsibility is determined not by how the character appears from the outside, but by who planned the advertisement, who prepared the content, who approved it, and who benefits from the economic gain.

For example, if an AI influencer's account belongs to an advertising agency and the agency publishes ads on behalf of the brand, the contract is established between the agency or account-owning company and the brand. The recipient of the advertising revenue is the account operator, who is a real or legal person, not the AI character.

The house, car, clothing, bank account, or investment portfolio that are presented as belonging to the AI character are not legally the character's assets. These items belong to the person or company that owns or operates the character.

Is it possible to sign a contract with an AI influencer?

A valid contract cannot be made with an AI influencer itself, because the parties to a contract must be legal entities with rights and obligations.

A brand can use the title "Advertising contract with AI influencer Luna." However, the contract must list one of the following individuals as the real party:

The company that owns the digital character,
The person who uses the intellectual or industrial property rights to the character,
The social media account operator,
Advertising agency,
Authorized license holder.

If the contract only lists the name of the artificial intelligence character and does not indicate the real or legal entity behind it, serious disputes may arise regarding who is a party to the contract, who has the authority to represent them, and who is responsible for the obligations.

In particular, the following points should be clearly stated in the contract:

The legal owner of the digital character,
The owner of the social media accounts,
Rights to the character's name, appearance, and voice,
License terms for artificial intelligence systems and software,
Which party will prepare the content?
Who will conduct the human control?
The ad copy approval process,
Liability arising from false or unlawful content,
Processing of personal data,
Whether the character can work with other brands,
The countries where the advertisements will be published,
How to explain the use of artificial intelligence to the consumer,
Removal and correction of content,
Recourse against Advertising Board decisions and administrative sanctions,
Transfer of character or account.

AI Influencers from the Perspective of Advertising Law

The most important legal areas regarding AI influencers are consumer law and advertising law.

Whether an advertisement is created through a human, animated character, or AI influencer does not alter the advertiser's fundamental obligations. The advertisement must be accurate, honest, verifiable, and not misleading to the consumer.

The Ministry of Trade's Guidelines on Social Media Influencers cover advertisements by influencers who use social media accounts for marketing purposes, such as selling goods or services or persuading a target audience. Even though an AI character may not have independent legal personality, consumer-oriented advertisements made through an account operated on its behalf are not exempt from advertising regulations.

The fact that the character is not real can sometimes enhance, rather than diminish, the effectiveness of the advertisement. While the consumer may view the virtual character as an entertainment element, they may mistake the product experience for reality.

For example, an AI influencer might use phrases like these:

"I wear this perfume every day."

"I stayed at this hotel last week."

"Thanks to this supplement, I feel more energetic."

"This cream removed the blemishes from my skin."

It is impossible for a completely digital character to use a product, stay at a hotel, or have a personal health experience. Therefore, these statements may mislead consumers unless explicitly stated as fictional.

The New Era Begins on August 1, 2026

Significant changes directly regulating AI-generated advertisements in Turkey on August 1, 2026 .

According to the new regulation, if advertisements use artificial intelligence technologies to create digital characters that are indistinguishable from humans, this must be clearly, understandably, and distinguishably stated.

Furthermore, advertisements that give the impression that a digital copy of a real person, created using artificial intelligence, has personally experienced or recommended a product are prohibited.

In this context, simply including the word "advertisement" in an advertisement is not always sufficient. The consumer must also be able to understand that the character they are viewing is not a real person.

The explanations that can be used may vary depending on the specific context:

"The character in this advertisement was created using artificial intelligence."

"The person in this content is not real."

"Image and sound were generated using artificial intelligence technology."

"This character's portrayal does not reflect the actual user experience."

Simply displaying the description in tiny print at the end of the video or hiding it among dozens of tags may not be sufficient. The description needs to be noticeable the moment the content is first viewed.

Can AI Characters Offer a Realistic User Experience?

It is impossible for an AI character to have a conscious experience. Therefore, attributing a personal user experience to an AI influencer is legally problematic.

The character can hold the product in their hand, display an outfit on themselves in a virtual environment, or describe the product's technical specifications. However;

"I used it."

"It did me good."

"It stopped my hair loss."

"I've driven a hundred kilometers with this vehicle."

Statements like these can be misleading if they give the impression of genuine experience.

Even if it is explicitly stated that the AI influencer is entirely fictional, the objective claims about the product must be true. The statement that the character is AI does not legally validate false claims regarding health, performance, or price.

Therefore, there are two separate transparency obligations:

It must be stated that the content is an advertisement
The explanation that the character was created using artificial intelligence.

In addition, the content of the advertisement must be accurate, verifiable, and compliant with regulations.

Who is responsible for misleading advertising?

The AI influencer itself cannot be held liable for administrative sanctions or compensation. Responsibility lies with the real and legal entities behind the character.

Depending on the specifics of the case, the following individuals may be held responsible:

Advertiser brand

If a brand has prepared the claims about the product, financed the advertising campaign, or approved the content before publication, it is responsible for the legality of the advertisement.

The brand's defense that "the advertisement was created by artificial intelligence" does not absolve it of responsibility. Artificial intelligence is a tool used by the brand in its commercial activities.

AI influencer's account holder

The individual or company managing the social media account is primarily responsible for deciding which content is published and generating advertising revenue.

Advertising agency

The agency may be held liable if it prepared a misleading campaign, created the digital character's statements, or knowingly allowed the advertisement to be published despite its illegal aspects.

Software or artificial intelligence service provider

The AI provider's liability is more limited and case-by-case. If the system only provides a general-purpose content creation tool and does not decide on the publication of ad copy, it cannot be automatically held responsible for every incorrect ad.

However, contractual or tort liability may arise if the provider has specifically designed the advertising campaign, developed the system in a way that will produce inaccurate information, made a contractual commitment to accuracy or compliance with regulations, or continued the service despite known serious errors.

Content approved by real people

Company executives, social media managers, or campaign officials may also face liability for their own actions if they knowingly approved an illegal advertisement.

Does AI's Autonomy Eliminate Accountability?

The fact that an AI system generates a sentence not prepared by a human does not mean that the system will not be held responsible for the harm.

If a company uses an artificial intelligence system to promote its products, it must establish a reasonable control mechanism over the system's output. Automatically broadcasting advertisements to millions of people does not eliminate the need for human oversight; on the contrary, it increases it.

According to Article 49 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, a person who causes harm to another through a culpable and unlawful act is obligated to compensate for the damage. In accordance with the provisions on breach of contract under the same Code, damages resulting from the improper performance of a contract are also subject to compensation.

In assessing responsibility, the following questions are particularly important:

Who implemented the artificial intelligence system?
Who decided which data the system would work with?
Was human control anticipated before the sharing process?
Could the inaccurate content have been foreseen?
Have similar errors occurred before?
Who was the person who could stop or correct the content?
Was the post removed after the mistake was discovered?
Was the system limited in order to produce legally compliant advertising?

A business's uncontrolled and automated advertising campaign does not allow it to evade responsibility by claiming "the algorithm made the decision.".

If a consumer suffers damage, who pays the compensation?

Consumers who purchase products based on misleading advertising from an AI influencer may make similar requests to other individuals.

If a product does not possess the characteristics stated in the advertisement, the provisions regarding defective goods or defective services under Law No. 6502 may apply. In this case, the consumer's primary point of contact is the seller or provider.

The consumer, depending on the specific circumstances of the case;

Withdrawal from the contract,
Price reduction,
Free repair,
Replacement with a faultless equivalent,
Compensation for material damages

They can exercise their rights.

If the account holder or advertising agency of an AI influencer has caused further harm to the consumer by negligently preparing an inaccurate advertisement, they may be liable for damages under the tort provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations.

In general, for compensation:

An illegal advertisement,
Mistake,
Real and demonstrable damage,
A proper causal link between advertising and harm

It must be found.

For example, if an AI influencer claims that a supplement can replace medication and a consumer stops their treatment based on this statement, a much harsher liability assessment could be made regarding bodily harm.

Who does the Advertising Board fine?

The Advertising Board cannot fine the AI character itself. The character has no assets or legal personality.

The administrative sanction applies to the natural or legal persons who placed, prepared, published the advertisement or engaged in the unlawful commercial practice.

In this specific case;

The advertising company,
The owner of the digital character,
The social media account operator,
Advertising agency,
Other commercial actors who played an independent role in the content

This could be a subject of investigation.

Hiding the owner's and operator's names in the character's profile description does not absolve them of responsibility. The true culprits can be identified through payment records, domain information, platform accounts, advertising agreements, brand correspondence, and content approvals.

Using a Digital Copy of a Real Person

The fact that an AI influencer is entirely fictional is not the same as a real person's face, voice, or behavior being copied.

A virtual character can be created using an artist's face, a doctor's voice, or a well-known influencer's image without permission. The character might say things the person never said or recommend a product they never used.

In this case, the person;

Its image,
His voice,
Ordinary,
His fame,
Professional reputation,
Its commercial value,
Personal data

It may have been used without permission.

Article 24 of the Turkish Civil Code provides protection against unlawful attacks on personal rights. According to Article 25, a person may request the prevention or cessation of the attack, the determination of the unlawfulness, the publication of a correction, material and moral damages, and the transfer of any profits obtained as a result of the unlawful use. Special protection against the unlawful use of a name is also regulated in Article 26 of the Code.

For example, creating a digital copy of a famous actor and presenting it as if the actor is promoting a betting site or health product could violate both personal rights and advertising regulations.

The new advertising regulation, which will come into effect on August 1, 2026, explicitly prohibits advertisements that give the impression that an AI-generated digital copy of a real person has personally experienced or recommended a product.

AI Influencers in Terms of Personal Data Protection

A purely fictional AI character is not, in itself, personal data. Because personal data is information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

However, personal data may be used during the creation or operation of the character:

Face images,
Audio recordings,
Biometric features,
Photos,
Movement and facial expression data,
Social media posts,
Location and behavioral information,
Follower profiles,
Consumer preferences.

Transferring a real person's facial and voice features to an artificial intelligence character may constitute personal data processing. Special categories of personal data rules may also apply when dealing with biometric data that can uniquely identify an individual.

The Generative Artificial Intelligence and Personal Data Protection Guide published by the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK) emphasizes that data processing activities during the development and use of artificial intelligence systems should be evaluated within the scope of Law No. 6698; and highlights the importance of a transparent, auditable, and human-centered approach.

Companies using data for AI influencers should particularly consider the following:

Whether or not there is a valid data processing requirement,
Whether the person concerned has been informed or not,
Using data for a specific and legitimate purpose,
Avoiding processing more data than necessary
How long the data will be stored,
Whether the data has been transferred abroad,
Whether it is also used for model training,
How the relevant person's requests for deletion, correction, and objection will be handled
Security measures against deepfake and identity impersonation risks.

A player's permission to use their image for a specific advertisement does not automatically grant permission for their facial and voice data to be used indefinitely for AI training. Consent and agreement must be clear in terms of purpose, medium, duration, and scope.

Does an AI influencer have copyright protection?

An AI influencer cannot be the creator of a work.

According to the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works, the author is considered to be the natural person who created the work. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism also requires that an intellectual product bear the distinctive characteristics of its owner and fall into one of the types of works listed in the law in order to be considered a work.

Therefore, no copyright arises in the name of artificial intelligence for images, text, or music that the AI system produces entirely on its own, without any creative human contribution.

However, in the AI influencer project, human-created elements can be preserved separately:

The character's original visual design,
Scenarios,
Photos and videos,
Animations,
Music,
Software codes,
The character's story,
Original text and dialogues.

When humans use artificial intelligence as a tool to make creative choices, select and significantly modify the output, it is also assessed whether the tangible product bears human characteristics.

Simply giving a command to an AI system does not, in every case, make the person who wrote the command the author of all the resulting content. Human contribution must be creative and decisive in determining the outcome.

How can a character's name and image be preserved?

While an AI character itself may not possess personality rights, it could be a commercial entity with economic value.

The character;

Ordinary,
Its logo,
Its visual appearance,
Their distinctive clothing,
Its slogan is,
Social media username,
Tone of voice,
Commercial presentation format

It can be protected through various legal means.

The character's name and logo can be registered as trademarks. If visual appearance requirements are met, it can be protected as a design. Original drawings, animations, and videos can benefit from copyright protection. However, misleading consumers by imitating the character may invoke the unfair competition provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code.

However, the owner of these rights is not the artificial intelligence character; it is the real or legal person who registered the work, created it, or acquired the rights.

If a character's name is identical to another real person's name, or if it is chosen to capitalize on the fame of a well-known person, disputes regarding personality rights and trademark law may arise.

Liability for Unfair Competition by AI Influencers

An AI influencer making false statements about competing products, impersonating a real person, or impersonating a competing influencer can create unfair competition.

For example, a character;

"This product is the only reliable product on the market."

"Products from competing brands are harmful to health."

"I am an independent consumer and I have tried all the products."

They may make statements that are contrary to the truth.

Since a character lacks legal personality, an unfair competition lawsuit cannot be directly brought against the virtual character. The business, advertiser, or agency that created the content and benefited commercially would be the defendant in the lawsuit.

The competitor company, according to the specific circumstances of the case;

Determining unfair competition,
Stopping the act,
Correction of inaccurate statements,
Compensation for material damages,
Giving the earned profit

can request.

AI Influencers from a Criminal Law Perspective

An AI influencer is not subject to criminal liability. Imprisonment or fines cannot be imposed on a software program or virtual character.

However, actions carried out through an AI influencer may constitute a crime.

For example, a character;

It could trick you into sending money to a fraudulent investment scheme,
They may advertise illegal gambling,
It can insult a real person,
They can publish fake statements using a person's face and voice,
It can be used in the sale of counterfeit products
They may collect money from followers for fraudulent purposes,
They can release private images.

In this case, criminal liability is assessed in relation to the individuals who created the content, managed the system, approved the sharing, or contributed to the criminal plot.

The fact that AI produced unexpected content can be important in determining intent. However, if the individual knew about the system's risk of causing crime or harm, and yet used the system or benefited from the result, the "it was an algorithm" defense may not be sufficient.

Tax Law and Artificial Intelligence Influencer

The AI influencer is not a taxpayer. A bank account cannot be opened in the character's name, and the character cannot file income tax or corporate tax returns.

Revenue from advertising, sponsorship, licensing, product sales, and platform services;

To the real person who operates the character,
To a sole proprietorship,
To a limited or joint-stock company,
To the advertising agency

It is considered as income.

Taxation is also determined according to the status of the natural or legal person legally receiving the income.

The amounts shown as "earnings" on the character's social media account are not legally the character's income. The income belongs to the business managing the account and which is a party to the advertising contract.

Can an AI influencer be considered an employee?

AI influencers are not employees. They cannot be paid, work set, receive annual leave, have insurance, severance pay, or union rights.

But the person working behind the character;

Animators,
Software developers,
Social media managers,
Voice actors,
Copywriters,
Designers

They may be entitled to benefits under an employment contract or a freelance service contract.

A company cannot evade the labor rights of the people who actually create and manage the character by saying, "Our AI influencer does all the work." The legal status of employees is determined by how the work is actually performed.

Status of the European Union Artificial Intelligence Regulation

The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Regulation 2024/1689 has entered into force, and significant transparency obligations on August 2, 2026 .

The rules under Article 50 of the Regulation provide for the flagging of content generated or modified by artificial intelligence, the disclosure of deepfake content, and the reporting of user interactions with specific AI systems. The European Commission has stated that these obligations will be implemented from August 2, 2026.

AI influencer campaigns targeting EU consumers by companies located in Türkiye must also be assessed under EU rules, depending on the nature of the activity and the regional scope of the Regulation.

Especially;

Advertising to EU consumers,
Content creation for a brand established in the EU,
The use of artificial intelligence output in the EU market,
Deepfake or synthetic media publication

In these cases, simply complying with Turkish advertising regulations may not be sufficient.

AI Influencers for Children

AI influencers pose a particular risk to children. Children may not be as able to distinguish, as easily as adults, that the character is fictional or that the relationship they are forming with the character has been generated by an automated system.

The character might pretend to befriend the child, use their name, send personalized messages, and encourage them to buy games or toys.

In this situation;

Clearly stating the advertisement,
The announcement that the character is artificial intelligence,
The child's lack of experience should not be exploited
Lawful processing of personal data,
Children should not be directly pressured into making purchases
Parental authority should not be weakened

is necessary.

In commercial content aimed at children, simply adding legal text is not enough. The description must be age-appropriate, simple, and understandable for the child.

Legal Compliance Check for Trademarks

Brands running advertising campaigns with AI influencers should perform the following checks before sharing:

Identify the character's owner

The contract must be made with the rightful owner, whether a natural or legal person, and not with an artificial intelligence entity.

Examine the chain of rights

It should be checked whether the necessary rights exist regarding the character's appearance, voice, name, software, music used, and training data.

Make the AI explanation visible

For characters that are indistinguishable from humans, it should be clearly stated that the content was generated using artificial intelligence.

Don't give the impression of a genuine experience

It should not be stated that the digital character used the product, obtained a health benefit from it, or personally experienced the service.

Establish human control

Advertising copy generated by artificial intelligence must be reviewed by legal and branding teams before publication.

Examine the resemblance to the real person

If a character's face, voice, or name strongly resembles a real person, it should be investigated whether the necessary permits and licenses are in place.

Prepare a personal data inventory

It is important to determine which personal data is used in model training, content creation, and follower engagement.

Create a crisis and recovery procedure

A system should be established to immediately stop the sharing of content that is false, discriminatory, insulting, or unlawful.

Detail the liability clauses

The contract must clearly include provisions regarding advertising, copyright, personal rights, GDPR, administrative sanctions, third-party claims, and insurance.

Conclusion: The AI character is virtual, but the responsibility is real

AI influencers can speak like real people on social media, interact with their followers, and be the face of multi-million dollar advertising campaigns. However, this appearance does not grant the character legal personality.

In current Turkish law, an artificial intelligence influencer;

This is not a real person
It is not a legal entity
Cannot be a party to the contract,
He cannot be considered the author of the work
He/She is not a taxpayer
They cannot be directly subject to administrative or criminal sanctions.

Legal responsibility lies with the people and companies that create and use the character.

Advertisers, account holders, advertising agencies, AI developers, and content approvers may face liability in proportion to their controls, shortcomings, and economic roles in the specific case.

Specifically, from August 1, 2026, it will be mandatory in Turkey to clearly state when advertisements use AI characters that are indistinguishable from humans. Advertisements that give the impression that a person has experienced or recommended a product through a digital copy of a real person will be prohibited. Similar AI transparency obligations will come into effect in the European Union on August 2, 2026

Consequently, it is not currently possible for AI influencers to gain independent legal standing. The fundamental legal question is not "What did AI do?", but rather " Who developed AI, who used it, who supervised it, who published it, and who benefited economically from it

An AI influencer may be alone on screen, but behind the legal responsibility there is always a person or business that needs to be reached.

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