Actor and Producer Cate Blanchett and EU Parliament Member Eva Maydell Launch RSL Media Human Consent Registry to Protect Identity in the Age of AI

Registry opens today to the public, providing a free and practical way for people to declare how AI systems may use their name, image, likeness and other identity attributes, promoting transparency and trust while complementing emerging AI policy frameworks

BRUSSELS, June 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RSL Media, together with Member of the European Parliament, Eva Maydell, announce today the launch of the Human Consent Registry, a free public utility tool built around a simple human principle: your identity is your intellectual property, and every person should have a clear way to say what is, and is not, allowed to be used by AI systems.

RSL Media’s public registry is the first practical and scalable infrastructure designed to make consent discoverable and actionable. The official launch, hosted at the European Parliament by MEP Maydell, and led by actor, producer and RSL Media co-founder, Cate Blanchett and award-winning filmmaker and RSL Media supporter, Steven Soderbergh, brings together business and policy leaders across technology, music, entertainment and other industries. The location bears its own significance as the place where the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, the world's first comprehensive AI framework, was debated, shaped and adopted.

Beginning today, people can access the Human Consent Registry at rslmedia.org to determine how their identity may be used by AI systems: allowed, allowed with terms, or prohibited. These choices function like a traffic light and provide AI systems a universal way to understand consent. ‘Identity’, covering name, image, likeness, voice, movement and other signature or personal attributes, is the first rights area to launch on the RSL Media Human Consent Registry, going live today. Following soon, RSL Media will additionally roll out ‘Work’, ‘Characters’ and ‘Marks’ rights areas.

“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,” said actor, producer and RSL Media co-founder, Cate Blanchett. “RSL Media’s free Human Consent Registry gives everyone a voice and a way to take action on AI permissions, helping to preserve and protect trust across the evolving AI landscape.”

“Today responsible stewardship is ever more important - ensuring that technology evolves in line with our values and our vision for the future. The RSL Media Public Registry is an ambitious step to translate these principles into practice - a tool that makes rights transparent, scales trust, and keeps human creativity at the centre of technological progress. I am glad to see it launch today - as a legislator, and as a human,” said Eva Maydell, Member of the European Parliament.

“Consent is a human right,” said Nikki Hexum, co-founder and CEO of RSL Media. “A person should be able to say: this is me, this is what I allow, this is what I do not allow, and this is the safe way to reach me if you need to ask. The public registry is a real-world tool that gives people a place to make their choices clear. We are proud to launch today with the European Parliament, a global force that is leading the way on digital rights and responsible AI use.”

The registry is designed to support both those who are acting on behalf of themselves and those who work through a third party such as an agent, guild, manager, licensing organization or trusted representative. A person without representation can register directly for free, while represented individuals can route requests through an approved pathway.

“The launch of the Human Consent Registry marks a pivotal moment for digital rights and creative protection. By empowering individuals to clearly define how their identity can be used by AI, RSL Media is setting a new standard for transparency and consent in our industry. CAA is proud to support this initiative, which gives artists, athletes, and creators meaningful control over their name, image, and likeness in the evolving AI landscape,” said Kevin Huvane, Co-Chairman, Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

“AI tools should increase human creativity, not replace it. But for that to hold true, consent must be clear, discoverable and actionable. The RSL Media Human Consent Registry does exactly that: ensuring people retain agency over how their identity and creative contributions are used in the age of AI,” said Scott Mann, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Flawless.

How It Works
Through the RSL Media Human Consent Registry, anyone, even those without technical knowledge, can:
Register: Create or activate their Human Consent ID and verify their identity through rslmedia.org
Declare: Set permissions for their identity: permitted (green), conditional (yellow) or not permitted (red)
Encode: Permissions get translated into machine-readable signals
Verify: AI systems and platforms will be able to check the RSL Media Human Consent Registry before using protected rights

About RSL Media
RSL Media is a public benefit nonprofit technology organization that has filed for 501(c)(3) status and is building an open consent infrastructure for the AI era. Its mission is to protect human creativity by making consent, credit and compensation clear and practical, machine-readable and usable at scale. The RSL Media Human Consent Standard and RSL Media Human Consent Registry are designed to allow individuals, artists, rights-holders and authorized representatives to define how their work, identity, characters, marks and related rights may or may not be used by AI systems.

The RSL Media Human Consent Standard builds on the Really Simple Licensing (RSL) standard, an open protocol that defines machine-readable AI usage rights and licensing terms for content. RSL Media brings that same open, machine-readable architecture to the protection of creative rights, identity, characters, marks and other human-centered rights in the AI era. RSL Media is co-founded by Cate Blanchett, Nikki Hexum, Doug Leeds and Eckart Walther. For more information about RSL Media, the RSL Media Governance Committees or how to participate, visit rslmedia.org.

About MEP Eva Maydell
Eva Maydell is a third-term Member of the European Parliament and sits within the largest EU political group, the European People’s Party. She serves on the Industry and Economic Affairs Committees and is Deputy Spokesperson on industry policy for her political group. She is also Vice President of the Parliament’s delegation for relations with the United States.

Maydell was one of the lead negotiators on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act and the Chips Act.
Her policy priorities include innovation and the use of new technologies to support European competitiveness and fostering cooperation among global likeminded partners in the tech and democracy space. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, sits on the WEF Digital Europe Board, and co-founded the Council on the Future with the Munich Security Conference.

Press Contacts

RSL Media
Amber McCann
press@rslmedia.org

MEP Eva Maydell
Mina Nesheva
mina.nesheva@la.europarl.europa.eu

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/133bf8be-a469-4d23-a4ef-72da833cfd6d