NO FAKES Act
What it does
The NO FAKES Act would give every person an exclusive federal right over computer-generated replicas of their voice and visual likeness, a right that survives death for up to 70 years and passes to heirs. Online platforms would have to take content down once someone claims it carries an unauthorized replica, or lose their liability protection. Penalties run to $5,000 per work against an individual and $750,000 per work against a service that leaves flagged content up.
Why it matters
A takedown system that pays platforms to delete first reaches far past deepfake porn. Satire, commentary, documentary footage, and news all use real faces and voices, and a service staring at $750,000 in liability will pull content first and sort it out later. The bill hands a cheap, fast censorship tool to anyone holding one of these rights.
Our take
Congress dressed a broad new censorship power as protection from AI fakes, and the Senate Judiciary Committee sent it to the floor without closing the free-speech holes that EFF and FIRE flagged. Give everyone a property right in their own image and you give everyone a delete button pointed at everyone else.
Cosponsors (15)
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Thomas Tillis (R-NC), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Katie Britt (R-AL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Committee
Judiciary Committee
Timeline
- May 20, 2026Introduced
- May 20, 2026Referred to committee
- June 18, 2026Reported by committee
Our coverage: all free-speech stories · Status checked July 20, 2026