Congress first took up the question of AI-generated voice and likeness protection in 2023. In the years since, the technology moved far faster than the legislation. Now, the NO FAKES Act is getting a new shot at protecting creatives from unauthorized AI-generated replicas of their voice and likeness.
A bipartisan group of senators and House members reintroduced the bill this week, drawing immediate support from the National Association of Broadcasters, which called it a necessary safeguard for broadcast journalists and on-air radio personalities. The legislation’s six sponsors span both parties and chambers: Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), along with Representatives Maria Salazar (R-FL) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA).
The bill would establish a federal right for individuals to control digital replicas of their voice and visual likeness, hold distributors and platforms liable for hosting unauthorized AI-generated replicas, and preempt future state laws on digital replicas under a single federal standard. Platforms face liability if they have knowledge that hosted content was not authorized by the individual depicted. Certain replicas are excluded from coverage based on existing First Amendment protections.
The revised version adds a counter-notice procedure to strengthen free speech protections, creates an exemption for libraries, archives, and research institutions, and makes technical fixes for streaming music platforms.
NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt commented, “NAB applauds Senators Blackburn and Coons for reintroducing the NO FAKES Act, which takes an important step toward protecting trusted broadcast journalists, local radio hosts, and other on-air personalities from the unauthorized use of their voice, image, or likeness.”
“Broadcasters play a vital role in keeping communities informed, and the spread of deceptive deepfakes undermines both individual rights and public trust. This bipartisan bill offers meaningful safeguards while respecting First Amendment protections, and we look forward to working with Congress to advance it,” LeGeyt added.
The preemption provision puts the NO FAKES Act alongside a broader question of who gets to manage AI oversight nationally.
Several states, including New York, California, Texas, Minnesota, and Washington, have already enacted deepfake or AI disclosure laws holding broadcasters accountable for identifying or rejecting deceptive synthetic content. Tennessee’s ELVIS Act targets unauthorized AI voice cloning in music and broadcasting specifically. A December Executive Order from President Trump instructed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to begin a proceeding within 90 days to develop a federal AI disclosure and reporting standard capable of overriding state-level rules.
The stakes for broadcast are concrete. AI-generated replicas of recognizable voices have already circulated on major streaming platforms, and the same technology poses direct risks to on-air talent whose voices carry audience trust built over years. LeGeyt flagged AI voice protection and content scraping as the next major legislative frontier for broadcasters following the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act at NAB Show 2026.
