MB1-1 January 15, 2024

What: The No AI Fraud bill protects everyone from recording artists to high school students against unauthorized AI cloning for human impersonation.

Call to Action: Tweet your support to your representatives or the sponsors @RepMariaSalazar, @RepDean, @RepNateMoran @RepJoeMorelle

MTP Support: YES.

Bill Title: No AI Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications Act of 2024 (No AI Fraud Act)

Bill Text: Discussion Draft

Sponsors:  Representatives María Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-1), Joe Morelle (D-NY-25), Rob Wittman (R-VA-1).

Sponsor Social Media: @RepMariaSalazar, @RepDean, @RepNateMoran @RepJoeMorelle. Tags:, María Elvira Salazar, Madeleine Dean, Nathaniel Moran, Joe Morelle, Rob Wittman

Sponsor Press Release: From Rep. Salazar press release

Press Release:

SUPPORT THE No AI FRAUD ACT

AI-Generated Fakes Threaten All Americans

New personalized generative artificial intelligence (AI) cloning models and services have enabled human impersonation and allow users to make unauthorized fakes using the images and voices of others. The abuse of this quickly advancing technology has affected everyone from musical artists to high school students whose personal rights have been violated.

AI-generated fakes and forgeries are everywhere. While AI holds incredible promise, Americans deserve common sense rules to ensure that a person’s voice and likeness cannot be exploited without their permission.

The Threat Is Here

Protection from AI fakes is needed now. We have already seen the kinds of harm these cloning models can inflict, and the problem won’t resolve itself.

From an AI-generated Drake/The Weeknd duet, to Johnny Cash singing “Barbie Girl,” to “new” songs by Bad Bunny that he never recorded to a false dental plan endorsement featuring Tom Hanks, unscrupulous businesses and individuals are hijacking professionals’ voices and images, undermining the legitimate works and aspirations of essential contributors to American culture and commerce.

But AI fakes aren’t limited to famous icons. Last year, nonconsensual, intimate AI fakes of high school girls shook a New Jersey town. Such lewd and abusive AI fakes can be generated and disseminated with ease. And without prompt action, confusion will continue to grow about what is real, undermining public trust and risking harm to reputations, integrity, and human wellbeing.   

Inconsistent State Laws Aren’t Enough

The existing patchwork of state laws needs bolstering with a federal solution that provides baseline protections, offering meaningful recourse nationwide.

The No AI FRAUD Act Provides Needed Protection

The No AI Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications (No AI FRAUD) Act of 2024 builds on effective elements of state and federal law to: 

• Reaffirm that everyone’s likeness and voice is protected, giving individuals the right to control the use of their identifying characteristics.
• Empower individuals to enforce this right against those who facilitate, create, and spread AI frauds without their permission.
• Balance the rights against the 1^st Amendment to safeguard speech and innovation. 

The No AI FRAUD Act is an important and necessary step to protect our valuable and unique personal identities.

Comments:

The No A.I. Fraud Act is an important first step I hope we’ll all stand behind and support. Regressive, anti-artist thieves and hucksters who profit from ripping off musicians must be held accountable. This week’s A.I. Bros are just last week’s crypto-currency Bros, last month’s NFT Bros, last year’s bitcoin Bros, last decade’s blockchain Bros, and last century’s music-piracy Bros. They voice open disdain for the institutions, rules, and rights which uphold our society. Institutions, rules, and rights, by the way, that have taken humanity thousands of years to implement. Like rights of privacy. Rights of property. Human rights. Copyright.

Blake Morgan, musician and founder of the #IRespectMusic campaign

It is crucial that the right of publicity be regulated at the federal level. With the proliferation of generative AI tools that have the power to create deepfakes that the general public is unable to identify as such, humans must have the power to protect their name, image and likeness.

Abby North, North Music Group

The No AI FRAUD Act is a meaningful step towards building a safe, responsible, and ethical AI ecosystem, and the RIAA applauds Representatives Salazar, Dean, Moran, Morelle, and Wittman for leading in this important area. To be clear, we embrace the use of AI to offer artists and fans new creative tools that support human creativity. But putting in place guardrails like the No AI FRAUD Act is a necessary step to protect individual rights, preserve and promote the creative arts, and ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of generative AI. As decades of innovation have shown, when Congress establishes strong IP rights that foster market-led solutions, it results in both driving innovation and supporting human expression and partnerships that create American culture.”

RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier

“Without smart regulation, AI technology poses risks to individuals and intellectual property rights. We applaud the introduction of the No AI FRAUD Act. It’s essential for the public to get involved and advocate. Let’s ensure AI technology remains a tool for humans and not a means of human exploitation.”

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher

“The music industry is the tip of the spear in the fight against unauthorized generative AI. Every day, music artists are being exploited as their creative works are harvested, manipulated, and repackaged without consent, credit, or compensation. The No AI FRAUD Act will create a federal property right for likeness and voice while providing real penalties for companies and individuals who attempt to steal and profit off the intellectual property of music creators.”

SoundExchange President & CEO Michael Huppe