Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has taken the creative industry by storm, but a new bill has been introduced to protect creators’ rights.
U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) introduced the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2024, or the NO FAKES Act, on July 31. According to a press release shared by Coons, the bill was created “to protect the voice and visual likenesses of creators and individuals from the proliferation of digital replicas created without their consent.”
“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),” per the release.
“Everyone deserves the right to own and protect their voice and likeness, no matter if you’re Taylor Swift or anyone else,” Coons said. “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.”
As previously reported by AFROTECH™, prominent creators like Samuel L. Jackson have spoken out against the use of AI in the entertainment space. The “Snakes On A Plane” actor has even gone as far as striking out any contract clauses that would permit entities to use his name, image, or likeness, including his voice and presence, without his consent or “in perpetuity.”
“If left unregulated, AI technology poses an existential threat not only to SAG-AFTRA’s members, but to civil discourse, student health and welfare, and democracy and national security,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator of SAG-AFTRA. “For these reasons, I applaud Senators Blackburn, Coons, Klobuchar, and Tillis for taking the lead in introducing the NO FAKES Act – an essential piece of legislation that will restore individual rights as this new technology flourishes.”
At this time, the NO FAKES Act has been endorsed by entertainment conglomerates such as 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, and a host of others, including, OpenAI, IBM, The Walt Disney Co., Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and more.
