Artificial intelligence can now recreate a person’s voice, face, and likeness in minutes. Until now, federal law has struggled to keep pace, but that may soon change.
The bipartisan NO FAKES Act has gained substantial momentum in Congress. The bill enjoys support from lawmakers in both parties, major technology companies, record labels, film studios, unions, and creator organizations. It recently advanced through the Senate Judiciary Committee, making it increasingly likely to become law.
If enacted, the legislation would establish the first nationwide right protecting every person’s voice and likeness from unauthorized AI-generated replicas.
What Is the NO FAKES Act?
The NO FAKES Act, short for the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act, creates a federal property right in an individual’s voice and visual likeness.
Today, those protections largely depend on state right-of-publicity laws. The result is a patchwork of different standards across the country.
The NO FAKES Act would replace that uncertainty with a single national framework.
What Would the Law Do?
If enacted, the NO FAKES Act would:
- Prohibit the unauthorized creation and distribution of AI-generated replicas of a person’s voice or likeness.
- Create a federal right allowing individuals to sue those who create or knowingly distribute unlawful digital replicas.
- Require online platforms to remove infringing content after receiving proper notice.
- Preserve important First Amendment protections for news reporting, documentaries, parody, satire, criticism, and other protected expression.
- Allow creators, performers, and public figures to better control how their identities are commercially exploited through AI.
Why Does This Matter for the Entertainment Industry?
Few industries face greater disruption from generative AI than entertainment.
Actors can be digitally recreated. Musicians can have their voices cloned. Athletes and influencers can appear to endorse products they have never seen or approved.
As AI becomes more sophisticated, a person’s identity may become as valuable as the creative work itself.
For studios, record labels, advertisers, and production companies, licensing voice and likeness rights is quickly becoming just as important as licensing copyrights.
The NO FAKES Act would create clearer rules for those rights while providing stronger remedies against unauthorized AI-generated replicas
Why Is the Bill Likely to Become Law?
Congress rarely reaches broad agreement on technology legislation.
The NO FAKES Act is different.
The proposal has bipartisan sponsors in both the House and Senate. It also has broad support from the entertainment and technology sectors. Companies including YouTube, OpenAI, IBM, Adobe, and major music organizations have endorsed the legislation alongside SAG-AFTRA, the Recording Academy, and the Motion Picture Association.
The bill has now advanced through committee, an important step in the legislative process.
Preparing for the Next Era of AI
The NO FAKES Act continues to move through Congress, and its final form could reshape how voice and likeness rights are protected nationwide.
Romano Law will continue monitoring the legislation and provide updates as the bill advances.
Contributions to this blog by Kennedy McKinney.
