What is the NO FAKES Act?

The NO FAKES Act is a proposed US federal law that would give every person a property right over AI-generated copies of their voice and likeness. It would let you act against unauthorized digital replicas and hold the platforms that host them responsible.

The name stands for Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe. It has been introduced and revised several times in Congress, and on June 18, 2026 it cleared a major hurdle when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved it. It still has not become law.

Has the NO FAKES Act passed?

No, but it took its biggest step yet. On June 18, 2026, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill by a unanimous vote and sent it to the full Senate. That matters because most bills never make it out of committee. It is still not law, and it will likely be revised further over free-speech concerns before any full Senate vote, but it now has real momentum and a broad, cross-industry coalition behind it.

How does the NO FAKES Act work?

The bill creates a federal right in your voice and visual likeness. Anyone who makes or shares a realistic AI replica of you without permission can be held liable.

• It is licensable, but not forever. A label or studio could use your voice only with a signed deal, and any single license is capped at 10 years so you cannot sign your voice away permanently.
• It survives death. The right is treated as property that an estate can control and license for decades after an artist dies.
• Platforms carry risk. Online services face steep per-work penalties, as high as $750,000 in some versions, if they keep hosting unauthorized replicas after being notified, through a takedown system modeled on copyright law. The current version goes further than the copyright system: once you flag a replica, platforms must also stop the same content from being re-uploaded, not just take it down once.

Why does the NO FAKES Act matter for you?

If you make music, your voice is your signature, and AI can copy it in seconds. A federal right would help artists without a legal team the most.

• It covers every person, not only celebrities, so an unknown artist gets the same baseline as a star.
• It gives you standing to demand a takedown and to sue, instead of hoping a platform acts.
• A clear, licensable right also helps in deals, because you can grant or refuse use of your voice and get paid for it.

Today, protection depends on a patchwork of state laws. A federal rule would set one floor across the country.

What the NO FAKES Act does not do

Even if it passes, it has limits.

• It carries exceptions for news, commentary, parody, and other protected speech.
• It works mostly after a replica exists, through takedowns and lawsuits, not by stopping the copy from being made.
• It leans on detection systems that platforms have not fully built yet.

Free-speech groups also warn the wording could sweep in lawful uses. Those fights over scope are part of why it has taken several tries.

What to do next

The NO FAKES Act could become the first nationwide rule for AI voice and likeness. Clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee moves it closer than any prior version, but it still has to pass the full Senate and the House, so it is not law yet. Until it is, your protection comes from a mix of state law and your own deal terms.

See how the leading state law works in what is the ELVIS Act?, learn whether you can trademark a voice, and get the practical steps in how can you protect your voice from AI?