Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music Group are among the music and entertainment companies to welcome the introduction of the so-called NO FAKES Act in the US.
US senators Chris Coons, Marsha Blackburn, Amy Klobuchar and Thom Tillis introduced the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2024, in order 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 AI.
“Everyone deserves the right to own and protect their voice and likeness, no matter if you’re Taylor Swift or anyone else,” said Senator Coons. “Generative AI can be used as a tool to foster creativity, but that can’t come at the expense of the unauthorised exploitation of anyone’s voice or likeness.”
This bill has been endorsed by 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, OpenAI, IBM, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Sony Music, the Independent Film & Television Alliance, William Morris Endeavor, Creative Arts Agency, the Authors Guild, and Vermillio. The Human Artistry Campaign has also gathered support for the bill from across the creative community.
“I am honoured to have testified about the urgent need for deep fake legislation at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s April 30 hearing, and I’m grateful to Senators Coons, Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis for their thoughtful crafting of the NO FAKES Act,” said Robert Kyncl, CEO, Warner Music Group (pictured testifying). “Warner Music Group has always embraced new ways to bring technology and music together and recognizes the extraordinary promise of AI with commonsense guardrails to protect creators, innovators, and consumers. The NO FAKES Act strikes the right balance to propel the next wave of technology-powered creativity while safeguarding every American’s right to control the use of their own image and voice in the age of AI.”
“The NO FAKES Act is landmark legislation to help foster ‘responsible AI’, under which generative AI can fulfil its potential ethically, while cracking down on deepfakes and other misuses of individuals’ rights over their own voice and visual likeness,” said Universal Music Group. “Success requires legislative guardrails like this to prevent AI companies from exploiting content without prior authorization. With this bill, Chairman Coons, Ranking Member Tillis, Senator Blackburn, and Senator Klobuchar recognise the importance of this issue to creators – and all Americans. We look forward to working together to achieving this mutually beneficial outcome.”
“Sony Music applauds Senators Coons, Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis for this bipartisan effort to address the growing problem of AI deepfakes,” said Sony Music. “The No FAKES Act recognizes that a human artist’s voice and image is the lifeblood of their career and worthy of the strongest protections. By creating a new federal right, this legislation will provide a meaningful new tool to put artists back in control of their identity and creative expression. Sony Music thanks the senators for their leadership in promoting the ethical use of this technology, and looks forward to working with them toward passage of this critical legislation.”
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