The Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) has launched two calls for input, seeking views from industry and beyond on the role that regulators can play in relation to (1) digital verification and (2) synthetic media and deepfakes.

As we have discussed previously, the DRCF was established in 2020 and brings together the Competition and Markets Authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office, Ofcom, and the Financial Conduct Authority to consider developments in digital markets and develop consistent regulatory responses. Its previous work includes a call for views on the regulatory challenges associated with agentic AI (discussed here), as well as a recent call for input on how best to manage the risks that artificial intelligence poses to consumers (discussed here).

The two most recent calls for input are part of the DRCF’s work on the theme of ‘Authentication and Trust’, exploring “how regulators can help innovators achieve public trust in new technologies and systems”.

The DRCF is clear that its call for input is not concerned with the Government’s work concerning Digital ID. Instead, it says that it is interested in evidence from industry on “practical use cases for digital verification, including where these services may support or intersect with open finance and wider smart data frameworks. This could include, for example, customer onboarding and KYC, fraud prevention, consent-based data sharing, and cross-sector services that combine verified identity attributes with customer or transactional data”.

Accordingly, it asks a series of questions of respondents, including:

• What are the potential challenges with digital verification, and what should be the key considerations for regulators in helping ensure good outcomes?
• How should regulators respond to AI agents making autonomous decisions on behalf of users, such as approving transactions and triggering workflows? What can be done to verify that agents are authorised to execute actions?
• Are there any frictions between regulatory remits as regards digital verification, and what practical steps could regulators take to provide clearer, joined-up guidance?

Adopting Ofcom’s definition of synthetic media as “an umbrella term for video, image, text or voice that has been generated in whole or partly by AI algorithms”, the DRCF acknowledges its potential benefits in fields such as content production, gaming, and advertising. However, it also points to the well-known risks of its being used to circumvent authentication systems, spread disinformation, and infringe copyright. This is not to mention the production of non-consensual sexual deepfakes, although the DRCF says that this is outside the scope of this particular area of investigation.

In its call for input, the DRCF asks for experiences of industry using synthetic media, and what steps they have taken to minimise risks, including matters such as:

• What provenance and authenticity tools (e.g. watermarking, metadata, signatures) are currently used, and what evidence exists on their effectiveness in real-world settings? How has this evidence been captured and validated?
• How is responsibility distributed across the synthetic media supply chain (model developers, tool providers, platforms, users), and where are accountability gaps?
• How are platforms identifying, labelling and moderating synthetic media, and what are the key trade-offs in detection accuracy, scale and user impact?
• What regulatory barriers (legal uncertainty, compliance costs, lack of standards) do organisations face when developing or deploying synthetic media? What should be the key considerations for regulators in helping ensure good outcomes?
• Where do organisations experience friction or overlap between OSA, UK GDPR, IP and consumer protection rules in relation to this technology, and what practical steps could regulators take to provide clearer, joined-up guidance?

The calls for input close on 14 August 2026.

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