Rep. Salazar's NO FAKES Act Advances Out of Senate Judiciary Committee with Unanimous Support

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) released the following statement after the bipartisan Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act, advanced unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Salazar introduced the House version of the bipartisan legislation alongside Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), while Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) lead the effort in the Senate.

The NO FAKES Act would protect Americans from unauthorized AI-generated replicas of their voice and likeness while preserving free speech, promoting innovation, and safeguarding individuals' control over their own identity.

"Today's unanimous vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee is a major step forward for Americans who deserve to know that their image, voice, and likeness cannot be stolen or used without their permission," said Rep. Salazar. "AI is moving fast, and that is exciting. But no one should have to worry that their face or voice can be copied, manipulated, or used to deceive others. The NO FAKES Act is simple. Your identity belongs to you. I introduced this bill in the House because Americans deserve protections that match the technology of our time, and I am proud to lead this effort alongside Senators Blackburn and Coons. I look forward to seeing this bipartisan bill signed into law so every American can have confidence that who they are and how they are represented remains in their own hands."

Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), the bipartisan leaders of the Senate legislation, released the following statements:

"AI should empower innovation - not give scammers and online predators a free pass to exploit someone's voice and visual likeness without permission," said Senator Blackburn. "From artists and songwriters to students and everyday Americans, people deserve meaningful protections against deceptive deepfakes and digital impersonation. The NO FAKES Act would establish clear guardrails that protect the creative community in Tennessee and nationwide, and I am pleased that this important legislation is one step closer to becoming law."

"Everyone deserves the right to own and protect their voice and likeness from AI deepfakes, no matter if you're Taylor Swift or an 8th grader in Wilmington," said Senator Coons. "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 that has pushed this bill forward out of committee by a unanimous vote. I hope the full Senate passes it soon so we can give Americans the security they deserve."

Last month, lawmakers in both the House and Senateintroduced updated versionsof the bipartisan NO FAKES Act, adding new safeguards to better protect free speech rights, exempt libraries, archives, and research institutions, and ensure the legislation functions as intended across digital platforms.

The NO FAKES Act would:

• Recognize that every individual has a federal intellectual property right to their own voice and likeness, including extending protections to families after death.

• Empower individuals to take action against bad actors who knowingly create, distribute, or profit from unauthorized digital replicas.

• Protect responsible online platforms from liability when they remove offending content after discovering unlawful material.

• Strengthen protections against harmful deepfakes, deceptive impersonation, exploitation, and unauthorized digital replication.

• Preserve innovation, legitimate research, free speech rights, and other recognized First Amendment protections.

Click here to read the updated bill text.

Click here to read the section-by-section.

BACKGROUND:

Rep. Salazar has been a leading advocate in Congress for AI accountability and online safety. She is the lead sponsor of the House version of the NO FAKES Act and helped lead the bipartisan TAKE IT DOWN Act, now law, which strengthened protections against online exploitation and abusive AI-generated content.

The NO FAKES Act addresses one of the most urgent challenges of the AI era: protecting Americans from the unauthorized use of their voice and likeness through digital replicas created without their consent. The legislation establishes clear federal protections while preserving free speech, encouraging innovation, and ensuring individuals maintain control over their own image, voice, and likeness.

The bill will give Americans and their families peace of mind, knowing they have meaningful protections if their image, voice, or likeness is stolen or misused through artificial intelligence.

The bill has earned broad bipartisan support from leaders across the technology, entertainment, labor, legal, and child safety communities, including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Human Artistry Campaign, Motion Picture Association, Recording Academy, YouTube, TikTok, OpenAI, IBM, Disney, SAG-AFTRA, AFL-CIO, National Association of Broadcasters, RAINN, Getty Images, and dozens of additional organizations.

That support continues to grow. Earlier this month, more than 16,000 SAG-AFTRA members signed an open letter urging Congress to pass the NO FAKES Act, warning that Americans remain vulnerable to fraud, exploitation, and unauthorized digital replication until federal protections are in place.

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape society, Congress has a responsibility to ensure these technologies empower people, foster creativity, and expand opportunity without sacrificing truth, privacy, or the fundamental right of every American to control their own image, voice, and likeness.