The US Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced the NO FAKES Act, the bipartisan bill that would create a federal right protecting Americans’ voice and visual likeness from AI-generated deepfakes.
The committee passed the bill unanimously by voice vote on Thursday (June 18), according to Deadline, which noted that “three Republican senators — Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and Eric Schmitt — raised First Amendment concerns”.
Clearing the committee sends the bill toward a vote by the full Senate, after which it would still need to pass the House of Representatives and be signed by the President before becoming law.
The Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act would give every American, not only public figures, a federal right to authorize or block AI-generated replicas of their voice and likeness.
It carves out First Amendment uses such as news reporting and parody, and would establish a single national standard, a notice-and-takedown system for online services, and a counter-notice process for material removed in error.
Penalties under the bill are tiered: $5,000 per work for an individual, $25,000 per work for a company that creates or distributes a replica, and up to $750,000 per work for an online service that fails to comply.
In a statement issued on Thursday, RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier applauded the “steadfast leadership” of the bill’s lead sponsors – Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Representatives María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Becca Balint (D-VT) and Laurel Lee (R-FL).
“WE ARE ENCOURAGED BY TODAY’S PASSAGE IN THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE BILL’S PASSAGE INTO LAW LATER THIS YEAR.”
MITCH GLAZIER, RIAA
“We are encouraged by today’s passage in the Senate Judiciary Committee and look forward to the bill’s passage into law later this year,” Glazier added.
“An extraordinary cross-sector coalition including the creative community, child safety groups, free market groups, labor unions, free speech advocates, and AI developers have come together to support these protections for Americans’ voice and likeness from exploitive digital deepfakes, and consumers agree: 92% worry about the impact of AI deepfakes on authenticity, society and culture. The NO FAKES Act answers the call.”
It is the third attempt to pass the bill. A version introduced in July 2024 ran out of time before that Congress ended, and an April 2025 reintroduction failed to advance out of committee.
A bipartisan group reintroduced the latest version, S.4591 in the Senate and H.R.8915 in the House, on May 20.
The framework says Congress should consider “establishing a federal framework protecting individuals from the unauthorized distribution or commercial use of AI-generated digital replicas of their voice, likeness, or other identifiable attributes,” while providing exceptions for parody, satire and news reporting.
Not every stakeholder backs the bill. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has urged Congress to reject it, warning it could become a tool for online censorship that sweeps up parody, news and criticism, as MBW has reported.
The companion House bill, H.R.8915, was referred to the House Judiciary Committee after its introduction and has not yet had a markup.Music Business Worldwide
