EFF Urges Senate to Halt NO FAKES Act Over $750,000 Speech Penalties
Updated
Updated · EFF · Jun 17
EFF Urges Senate to Halt NO FAKES Act Over $750,000 Speech Penalties
2 articles · Updated · EFF · Jun 17
Summary
EFF and nine other civil society groups urged the Senate Judiciary Committee not to advance the NO FAKES Act in its current form, arguing it would chill lawful online speech.
Up to $750,000 per work in penalties would push platforms to remove disputed content first and assess later, the coalition said, importing DMCA-style notice-and-takedown pressures into a broader range of expression.
Satire, parody, commentary and news would get little protection under the bill, because platforms could still be punished for misjudging whether an AI-generated likeness use is lawful.
The groups also warned the bill's new federal likeness right could be licensed or transferred away, leaving actors or ordinary users who sign broad contracts with someone else controlling their face or voice.
Instead of creating a sweeping new intellectual-property right, the coalition urged Congress to rely on existing remedies and craft narrower rules aimed at genuine AI impersonation harms.
Could new AI laws mean you no longer own the rights to your own face and voice?
With a $750,000 fine on the line, who decides if an AI creation is satire or a crime?
The NO FAKES Act: Federal AI Deepfake Law Nears Passage Amid Free Speech and Innovation Debate
Overview
The NO FAKES Act is at a critical point in Congress, aiming to give people federal rights over AI-made copies of their voice and likeness. The Senate is about to vote on whether to move the Act forward, which could shape its future. The Act was recently revised to address the fast-changing world of artificial intelligence and the lack of national rules for digital impersonation. It would require social media and online platforms to remove AI-generated content that impersonates someone without their consent, making these companies responsible for protecting digital identities.