The NO FAKES Act, explained

The NO FAKES Act is proposed US federal legislation creating a right against unauthorized AI-generated replicas of a person’s voice and likeness.

People moving through a city crossing in the evening.

Why it matters to a buyer

Forested mountain ridges receding into lavender evening mist.

If enacted, it raises the stakes on using identifiable voices without documented consent — exactly the exposure buyers of voice data need to manage.

Why it matters to a data owner

It strengthens an owner’s/performer’s position and makes consented, licensed voice data more valuable.

Current legal status

The current bill, S. 4591 (NO FAKES Act of 2026), was introduced May 20, 2026, with a House companion (H.R. 8915). The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced it unanimously by voice vote on June 18, 2026; it now awaits a full Senate vote, and the House committee has not taken up the companion. It is not law. The bill would create a federal, licensable property right in every individual’s voice and visual likeness, impose liability for producing or distributing unauthorized digital replicas, hold platforms liable for knowingly hosting them, and add a DMCA-style notice-and-takedown process with a counter-notice procedure.

It excludes First Amendment-protected uses such as news reporting, parody, and criticism. It would preempt future state digital-replica laws but preserves causes of action that existed as of January 2, 2025, so Tennessee’s ELVIS Act would survive. Its final scope may change before passage.

A producer reviewing conversation recordings and audio tracks.

What fiund does about it

fiund’s consent-at-the-source model is built for exactly the world this bill points toward.

Sources

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