Another day, another legislative attempt to wrangle the AI beast. Congress, bless their hearts, has decided to try their hand at the “Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2026” – or the NO FAKES Act, as it’s affectionately (or sarcastically) known. It’s back. With “more protections for libraries and researchers,” apparently. Because that was the big missing piece, wasn’t it? Not the fundamental question of whether AI can even do what they think it does, but the library exemption.
Look, the premise is simple enough: grant an individual a federal IP right to their voice and likeness. This means if some AI wants to deepfake your voice into a political rant or slap your face onto a product you’d never endorse, they’d need your say-so. And maybe your cash. The bill’s sponsors — a bipartisan mix that reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of Congressional IP nerds — seem to think this is the key to unlocking the “full promise of American AI technology.” Mitch Glazier of the RIAA is practically doing cartwheels, touting it as a solution that secures freedom of expression while reducing litigation. Sure, Mitch.
This isn’t exactly new territory. A discussion draft popped up in October 2023, followed by hearings and a lot of industry hand-wringing. The usual suspects — OpenAI, Disney, Warner Music, SAG-AFTRA — all lined up to cheerlead. Naturally. Who wouldn’t want more control over their digital puppet strings? It’s especially timely given the parade of celebrities, like Taylor Swift, now trademarking their own voices. Because if you can’t legislate it, trademark it, right?
The ‘Why Now?’ Question
Why the sudden urgency? Because generative AI, as everyone keeps reminding us, is “evolving.” And by evolving, they mean it’s getting scarily good at mimicking people. The RIAA claims 92% of Americans want a federal law to protect voice and likeness. It’s a nice statistic. Makes you wonder who they polled. Grandma Mildred from Des Moines who just learned to use her tablet? Or the AI researchers who might actually be able to build something like this?
This latest iteration claims to have learned from past critiques. It includes a “counter-notification” procedure. Fancy words for: if someone wrongly accuses you of stealing their AI-generated voice, you can fight back. And, as mentioned, there are now “additional exclusions for libraries and research institutions.” So, the folks archiving history won’t accidentally land in jail for preserving it. A real win.
But let’s be honest. The core issue isn’t just about protecting likeness. It’s about who owns what in a world where creation is becoming democratized by algorithms. This bill feels less like a shield and more like a toll booth. The music industry, in particular, has a long and storied history of exploiting new technologies to entrench existing power structures. They cried wolf with digital music, then they cried wolf with sampling, and now they’re crying wolf with AI. It’s a classic playbook: demand control, then figure out how to monetize that control.
Will this Actually Work?
Here’s the real kicker. The NO FAKES Act grants a right to “authorize the use” of voice and likeness. It’s licensable, but not assignable during life. Post-mortem, it transfers, lasting up to 70 years after death. This sounds… complicated. And ripe for loopholes. Imagine the lawsuits. Imagine the legal fees. The RIAA loves talking about reducing litigation. I’m not holding my breath.
Plus, there’s the fundamental technological hurdle. Can you truly copyright a voice? Or a likeness? These are inherent human characteristics. AI isn’t stealing your intellectual property; it’s learning to mimic patterns. It’s like saying AI can’t paint in the style of Van Gogh because Van Gogh already painted. You can’t copyright a style. This bill is trying to legislate the unlegislatable, and it smells like desperation from industries that are terrified of losing their gatekeeper status.
It’s an interesting idea, I’ll give them that. The intention might even be noble. But the execution? It feels like throwing a net into the ocean and hoping to catch a specific fish by its shadow. It’s going to be a legal mess, a technological headache, and probably won’t stop the truly bad actors. But hey, at least Congress has done something. The libraries are safe. For now.
“NO FAKES provides… important protections while securing freedom of expression, reducing litigation and achieving the full promise of American AI technology.” – Mitch Glazier, RIAA
Uh-huh. We’ll see about that.
