NO FAKES Act reintroduced with more protections

Senators Marsha Blackburn, Chris Coons, Thom Tillis and Amy Klobuchar, along with Representatives María Elvira Salazar and Madeleine Dean, reintroduced a revised NO FAKES Act on May 20, according to statements from the bill’s sponsors and industry groups. The proposal would create a federal right over a person’s voice and visual likeness in digital replicas made without consent. The latest version also adds a counter-notice procedure and broader carveouts for libraries, archives and research institutions, according to IPWatchdog and sponsor materials. The bill is aimed at AI-generated deepfakes and voice clones, an issue lawmakers and entertainment groups have been pressing in Congress since 2023. ### Which lawmakers put the bill back in play? Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said the revised bill was introduced in the Senate with Coons, Tillis and Klobuchar and in the House with Salazar and Dean. IPWatchdog reported additional House sponsors include Nathaniel Moran, Becca Balint and Laurel Lee. Blackburn’s office said the measure is bipartisan and bicameral. (blackburn.senate.gov) Chris Coons said the new version was written after talks with stakeholders “from across the country” to make the bill’s protections “more robust without compromising Americans’ free speech rights.” Blackburn said the bill is meant to stop scammers and online predators from exploiting a person’s voice or likeness without permission. (blackburn.senate.gov) ### What right would the bill actually create? The bill would give individuals the right to authorize use of their voice or visual likeness in digital replicas and certain other products or services, IPWatchdog reported. That right would be non-assignable during the person’s lifetime, though it could be licensed. After death, the right could be transferred or licensed and would expire no later than 70 years after the right holder’s death, according to IPWatchdog and Deadline. (blackburn.senate.gov) The 2025 Senate text on Congress.gov defined a “digital replica” as a newly created, computer-generated, highly realistic representation readily identifiable as the voice or visual likeness of an individual. That earlier text also covered living and dead individuals and set the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee after introduction on April 9, 2025. Congress.gov had not surfaced a separate 2026 bill page in the search results reviewed here. (ipwatchdog.com) ### What changed in the revised version? IPWatchdog said the revised bill adds a “counter-notification” procedure for people challenging claims that material violates the act. Deadline separately reported the update includes an exemption for certain work at libraries, archives and research institutions. Those changes were presented as additions to earlier exclusions for news reporting, documentaries, sports broadcasts, biography, comment, criticism and parody. (congress.gov) RIAA Chief Executive Mitch Glazier said the updated bill provides protections while “securing freedom of expression” and “reducing litigation.” RIAA also said the bill would let user-generated-content platforms avoid liability if they promptly remove unauthorized deepfakes. ### Who is lining up behind it? RIAA said supporters now span creative groups, labor unions, child-safety groups, conservatives, free-speech advocates and AI companies including OpenAI, Google/YouTube and IBM, as well as Getty and Spotify. (ipwatchdog.com) IPWatchdog said earlier backers included the Walt Disney Company, Warner Music Group, the Motion Picture Association, Universal Music Group, the Authors Guild and SAG-AFTRA. (riaa.com) Deadline said the earlier push drew support from performers’ groups, studios and technology companies after an initial rollout last year. Lawmakers and backers have repeatedly pointed to unauthorized AI replicas in music and video as the practical target of the measure. ### Where does it go from here? May 20 sponsor statements linked to updated bill text, but the procedural next step was not detailed in those statements or in IPWatchdog’s report. (riaa.com) The 2025 Senate version was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee when introduced, according to Congress.gov, and any 2026 version would need formal filing and committee action before floor consideration. Sponsors said on May 20 that they want the legislation enacted this year. (deadline.com) (blackburn.senate.gov)