NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act (NO FAKES Act) to protect the voice and visual likenesses of creators and individuals from the proliferation of digital replicas created without their consent.

“Tennessee is known around the world for its rich music history and is home to an incredibly talented creative community,” said Senator Blackburn. “Artists’ rights to their voice, image, and likeness must be protected under the law, and the NO FAKES Act is an important first step in protecting our creative community against the misuse of generative AI.”

“Everyone deserves the right to own and protect their voice and likeness, no matter if you’re Taylor Swift or anyone else,” said Senator Coons. “Generative AI can be used as a tool to foster creativity, but that can’t come at the expense of the unauthorized exploitation of anyone’s voice or likeness. I am grateful for the bipartisan partnership of Senators Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis and the support of stakeholders from across the entertainment and technology industries as we work to find the balance between the promise of AI and protecting the inherent dignity we all have in our own personhood. I am excited to watch this bill build support on Capitol Hill and beyond, and will work to pass it into law as soon as possible.”

“Americans from all walks of life are increasingly seeing AI being used to create deepfakes in ads, images, music, and videos without their consent,” said Senator Klobuchar. “We need our laws to be as sophisticated as this quickly advancing technology. The bipartisan NO FAKES Act will establish rules of the road to protect people from having their voice and likeness replicated through AI without their permission.”

“While AI presents extraordinary opportunities for technological advancement, it also poses some new problems, including the unauthorized replication of the voice and visual likeness of individuals, such as artists,” said Senator Tillis. “We must protect against such misuse, and I’m proud to co-introduce this bipartisan legislation to create safeguards from AI, which will result in greater protections for individuals and that which defines them.”

• With the rapid advance of generative AI, artists and creators have already begun to see their voices and likenesses used without their consent in videos and songs created as nearly indistinguishable replicas. In one high-profile example, AI-generated replicas of the voices of pop stars Drake and The Weeknd were used to produce a viral song titled “Heart on My Sleeve,” generating hundreds of thousands of listens on YouTube, Spotify, and other streaming platforms before it was flagged as a fake and removed from the platforms. But the harmful effects of unauthorized AI-generated go far beyond celebrities. For example, in Maryland, a Baltimore high school athletic director was arrested and charged after using AI to create a deepfake voice recording of the school’s principal that included racist and derogatory comments about students and staff – statements the principal never actually made.

• The NO FAKES Act would hold individuals or companies liable for damages for producing, hosting, or sharing a digital replica of an individual performing in an audiovisual work, image, or sound recording that the individual never actually appeared in or otherwise approved – including digital replicas created by generative artificial intelligence (AI). An online service hosting the unauthorized replica would have to take down the replica upon notice from a right holder. Exclusions are provided for recognized First Amendment protections, such as documentaries and biographical works, or for purposes of comment, criticism, or parody, among others. The bill would also largely preempt state laws addressing digital replicas to create a workable national standard.

• The introduction of the bill follows the October 2023 release of a discussion draft, an April 2024 Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property hearing, and extensive conversations with key stakeholders – all intended to improve and strengthen the bill.

ENDORSEMENTS:

• This bill is endorsed by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the Recording Industry Association of America, the Motion Picture Association, the Recording Academy, OpenAI, IBM, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Sony Music, the Independent Film & Television Alliance, William Morris Endeavor, Creative Arts Agency, the Authors Guild, and Vermillio. The Human Artistry Campaign has also gathered support for the bill from across the creative community.

• The bill’s introduction was met with a broad outpouring of support from the creative community. You can find a press release from the Human Artistry Campaign here that features dozens of supportive quotes from creative community unions, agencies, and organizations.