On June 23, the S. 4591, the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2026, cleared the US Senate Judiciary Committee on a unanimous vote. If passed into law, it would prohibit AI-generated “digital replicas” of actual individuals embodied in a sound recording, image, audiovisual work; from being distributed without the authorization of the individual or rights-holder in the form of a license.
This would include audiovisual works with no accompanying sounds, transmissions that were not actually performed or appear; or that are versions of sound recordings, images, or audiovisual works in which the actual individual did perform or appear, in which the fundamental character of the performance or appearance has been materially altered.
The definition of ‘distribution’ is all-encompassing: Any public-facing website, online application, mobile application, or virtual reality environment that predominantly provides a community forum for user generated content, such as sharing videos, images, games, audio files, or other material; or digital music provider, as defined in US Code.
Distribution also may include a social media service, social network, or application store; provided, however, that the term does not include a service by wire or radio that provides the capability to transmit data to and receive data from all, or substantially all, internet endpoints, including any capabilities that are incidental to enable the operation of the communications service of a provider of online services or network access, or the operator of facilities for such service.
There are exceptions for news organizations, public affairs, or sports broadcast or account, provided that the digital replica is the subject of, or is materially relevant to, the subject of such broadcast or account; and that the applicable digital replica is a representation of the applicable individual as the individual in a documentary or in a historical or biographical manner, including some degree of fictionalization.
Reporting system
A separate bill in the US House of Representatives, HR 5586, the DEEPFAKES Accountability Act, would establish a deepfake reporting system, “to protect national security against the threats posed by deepfake technology and to provide legal recourse to victims of harmful deepfakes.”
It also establishes definitions of what would constitute ‘false personation’ and ways to identify their occurrance.
A Deepfakes Task Force would be established within the US Dept of Homeland Security to research and develop technologies to detect, or otherwise counter and combat, deepfakes and other advanced image manipulation methods and distinguish such deepfakes or related forgeries from legitimate audiovisual recordings or visual depictions of actual events
Objections
Several parties raised First Amendment concerns, including an opposition letter from a number of free speech advocacy organizations that included Public Knowledge, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU; saying that “the bill endangers vast amounts of First Amendment-protected speech, and it leaves ordinary Americans, performers, and their heirs exposed to losing control of their own likenesses.”
Sponsors
The bill was introduced by U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), along with U.S. Representatives Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.)
Proposed penalties
The proposed penalty per violation would range from $5,000 to $25,000 per violation, or any actual damages, including costs and attorney’s fees, incurred by the alleged violator, as well as by any online service injured by the reliance of the online service on the misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be an unauthorized digital replica
Online services that fail to remove reported content can be fined up to $750,000.
Violations of the DEEPFAKES Accountability Act would carry damages ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 “per record.”
Why it matters
The NO FAKES Act would address the use of non-consensual digital replications in audiovisual works or sound recordings by:
- Holding individuals or companies liable if they distribute an unauthorized digital replica of an individual’s voice or visual likeness
- Holding platforms liable for hosting an unauthorized digital replica if the platform has knowledge of the fact that the replica was not authorized by the individual depicted
- Excluding certain digital replicas from coverage based on recognized First Amendment protections
- Preempting future state laws regulating digital replicas.
Further reading
Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2024 (aka NO FAKES Act of 2024). S.4875, a bill before US Senate, 118th Congress.
“Defending Each and Every Person from False Appearances by Keeping Exploitation Subject to Accountability Act of 2023” or the “DEEPFAKES Accountability Act.” HR 5586, a bill before the US House of Representatives, 118th Congress.
https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2026/6/senate-judiciary-advances-no-fakes-act-on-unanimous-vote-103007539Senate Judiciary advances NO FAKES Act on unanimous vote. Article. June 23, 2026. by Stefan Modrich. S&P Global Market Intelligence
AI deepfakes bill advanced by Senate Judiciary Committee. Article. June 18, 2026. by Allison Mollenkamp. Roll Call
Senators Coons, Blackburn, Reps. Salazar, Dean colleagues reintroduce NO FAKES Act fo protect individuals and creators from digital replicas. Press release. April 9, 2026. US Senator Christopher Coons (D-Delaware)
