Bipartisan bill aims to protect actors, singers from AI recreations

A bipartisan bill introduced Thursday aims to protect the likeness of actors, singers and other performers from generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

The Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act would hold individuals or companies liable for producing unauthorized digital replicas of individuals in a performance, along with platforms that host such content. 

The bill would exclude certain digital replicas from liability based on First Amendment protections. For example, replicas for news or sports broadcasts, documentaries or historical work, or satire or parody are exempted.

The bill is sponsored by Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). 

The proposal follows growing concerns over threats from generative AI to creators. 

In one high-profile example, an AI-generated song was created using the likeness of Drake and The Weeknd. It was streamed millions of times across platforms before it disappeared after requests from the artists’ label, Vice reported. 

Concerns around AI and using performers’ likenesses have also emerged as part of the SAG-AFTRA actors strike against major studios. 

“Creators around the nation are calling on Congress to lay out clear policies regulating the use and impact of generative AI, and Congress must strike the right balance to defend individual rights, abide by the First Amendment, and foster AI innovation and creativity,” Coons said in a statement. 

Blackburn said the bill is a “good first step in protecting our creative community, preventing AI models from stealing someone’s [name, image and likeness], and ensuring that those rights are given primary consideration under the law.”

The NO FAKES Act is being released as a discussion draft as the sponsors work with stakeholders to balance protection and First Amendment considerations. 

The proposal follows another bipartisan AI bill released by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), with a broader set of restrictions. Their proposal calls for AI companies to apply for licensing and to clarify that a tech liability shield would not protect those companies from lawsuits.