In an effort to honour their late father’s memory and push back against unauthorised artificial intelligence, the three children of Robin Williams have revived his official Instagram account after twelve years of dormancy.

Zak (43), Zelda (37), and Cody Williams (34) announced the account’s return in a joint statement, aiming to make the platform a safe, verified space for authentic content as unauthorised AI recreations continue to circulate online. The reactivation comes as the family marks what would have been the Oscar-winning comedian’s 75th year, following his death in August 2014 at the age of 63.

“As technology evolves, we want this to be a safe, trusted place where the stories, photos, videos, and memories shared reflect his legacy with authenticity, warmth, and care,” the siblings stated. “This is our way of sharing his unique talent and humour with the world, including the moments that made us and so many of you laugh, as we remember our Dad’s extraordinary life and work. He continues to inspire and delight people all over the world.”

Following the announcement, filmmaker and writer Zelda Williams addressed the reactivation on her personal Instagram Stories, acknowledging that seeing a new post on the late actor’s page could be “a little strange” or “triggering” for some fans. She clarified that establishing a trusted channel had become one of the most viable ways to counter the unauthorised use of her father’s voice and image across social media platforms.

“Making that space into one where people can find authentic clips and photos of him is one of the best ways we’ve now found to fight back against rampant AI abuse of his voice and likeness on here,” she wrote. “Might be a drop in the bucket, but we’re trying.”

Zelda has previously been an outspoken critic of post-mortem digital recreations. During the 2023 Screen Actors Guild strike, she described AI voice replicas of her father as “personally disturbing” and characterised them as a “horrendous Frankensteinian monster, cobbled together from the worst bits of everything this industry is, instead of what it should stand for.” She reiterated her stance in an October message, urging users to stop sending her synthetic videos and condemning low-effort digital impersonations that condense real legacies into superficial online content.

Williams’ children have not yet provided specific details regarding how they plan to run the revived account moving forward.