You've probably seen the videos. Maybe it’s a clip of a singer who passed away decades ago suddenly "performing" a modern pop hit, or a Hollywood actor appearing in an ad for a dental plan they never actually signed up for. It’s eerie. It’s also becoming a massive legal headache. This is where the NO AI FRAUD Act comes into play. Formally known as the "Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act," this bipartisan bill is trying to fix a hole in American law that most people didn’t realize existed until AI started getting really good at mimicking humans.
Basically, we're in the Wild West.
Right now, if someone steals your car, there's a clear law for that. If someone "steals" your face or your voice using generative AI to create a deepfake, the legal path is messy. It varies from state to state. In some places, you’re protected; in others, you’re kinda on your own. The NO AI FRAUD Act wants to change that by making your likeness a federal right. It's a big deal.
What the NO AI FRAUD Act actually tries to do
Honesty time: the legal system moves like a snail while AI moves like a rocket. Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar and Madeleine Dean, along with several others, introduced this bill to create a "property right" in your own likeness.
This isn't just for famous people.
Sure, Taylor Swift or Tom Hanks have the money to sue people into oblivion, but what about you? If a scammer uses an AI version of your voice to call your grandmother and ask for money—which is happening way more than it should—this act would provide a federal framework to go after them. It targets the "production" and "distribution" of personalized AI replicas without consent.
The bill is surprisingly broad. It defines a "personalized AI replica" as a digital representation that is so realistic a reasonable person would mistake it for the real thing. It doesn't matter if it's a song, a video, or just an audio clip. If it looks like you or sounds like you, and you didn't give the okay, it’s a problem.
The Drake and The Weeknd "Heart on My Sleeve" incident
Remember that "Heart on My Sleeve" track? It went viral in 2023. It sounded exactly like Drake and The Weeknd, but neither artist had anything to do with it. An anonymous creator named "Ghostwriter" used AI to mimic their styles. While Universal Music Group got it pulled from streaming services using copyright claims related to the beat, the actual voices weren't technically "copyrighted."
That’s the loophole.
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You can’t copyright a voice. You can copyright a recording of a voice, but not the sound of the vocal cords themselves. This is exactly why the NO AI FRAUD Act is being pushed so hard by the RIAA and SAG-AFTRA. They want the "sound" of a person to be legally protected property. They argue that if an AI can replace a human artist by simply mimicking their essence, the entire creative economy collapses.
Why some people are actually worried about this bill
It’s not all sunshine and protection, though. There are some serious First Amendment concerns floating around. Groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and various civil liberties advocates are biting their nails over how this might stifle parody and satire.
Think about Saturday Night Live.
If we have a federal law that gives people total control over their "digital replica," could a politician sue a comedian for a deepfake parody that’s clearly meant to be a joke? The bill tries to include "Fair Use" protections, similar to copyright law, but critics say the language is way too vague. They worry it could lead to "notice and takedown" schemes where powerful people silence online critics by claiming their "likeness rights" are being violated.
It’s a balancing act. How do you stop a malicious deepfake without accidentally banning a funny meme? Honestly, nobody has a perfect answer yet.
Breaking down the penalties
The NO AI FRAUD Act doesn't just wag a finger at people; it carries some heavy financial weight. We are talking about statutory damages starting at $5,000 per violation.
If a company creates an AI model specifically designed to churn out unauthorized replicas, they could be on the hook for massive amounts of money. The bill also allows for "punitive damages" and attorney's fees. This is crucial because, without the ability to recover legal costs, a regular person could never afford to take a tech company to court.
- Individuals: Can sue for damages if their likeness is used for profit or to deceive.
- Estate holders: The rights would likely extend after death (though the exact duration is a massive point of debate in the halls of Congress).
- Platforms: Could be held liable if they knowingly host and profit from these replicas after being told to take them down.
The complexity here is wild. Imagine a world where every YouTube creator has to check a federal database before using a filter that makes them look slightly like a celebrity. It could get real messy, real fast.
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The state vs. federal muddle
One of the weirdest parts about digital rights in the US is the "Right of Publicity."
California has great laws for this. Tennessee recently passed the ELVIS Act (Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act), which is the first state law to specifically name AI voice mimicry as a violation. But if you live in a state with no such laws, you’re basically stuck trying to use "common law" theories, which are expensive and unpredictable.
The NO AI FRAUD Act would set a floor. It would mean that regardless of whether you're in Nashville or a small town in Wyoming, you have the same basic federal protection. It simplifies things for the courts, but it also creates a lot of friction with existing state laws that might be even stricter.
What this means for the future of "AI Art"
If this act passes, the era of "free-for-all" AI generation is over. Companies like OpenAI, Midjourney, and ElevenLabs would have to be much more careful about what their models are capable of producing.
We might see more "guardrails" that prevent you from typing "Make a video of Joe Biden eating a cheeseburger" into a prompt. Some of this is already happening, but the NO AI FRAUD Act would make those guardrails a legal necessity rather than a corporate choice.
Does it stop "Style" mimicry?
This is a grey area. If I write a song that sounds like Taylor Swift but doesn't use her actual voice or name, is that a violation? Most legal experts say no. You can’t own a "vibe" or a musical style. But the line between "inspired by" and "digitally replicated from" is getting thinner every day.
The bill specifically looks for things that are "identifiable" as a specific person. If the AI is trained on a specific person’s data to output something that is indistinguishable from them, the hammer comes down.
Practical steps for creators and regular folks
Since we are still waiting for the federal government to get its act together and actually pass this thing, what are you supposed to do now?
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First, be careful with your biometric data. Those "AI Headshot" generators that ask for 20 photos of your face? You are basically handing over the blueprints to your digital identity. Read the Terms of Service. Most of them claim they won't sell your data, but "transfer of assets" in a bankruptcy could change that overnight.
Second, if you’re a creator, start watermarking your content. It doesn't stop AI from scraping it, but it makes the "intent" of the original work clearer if you ever have to go to court.
Third, keep an eye on the "No Fakes Act," which is a similar bill in the Senate. The NO AI FRAUD Act is the House version, and they are essentially racing to see which one becomes the standard.
What to do if you find a deepfake of yourself
- Document everything: Screenshot the post, the URL, and the engagement numbers.
- Report to the platform: Most major sites (IG, TikTok, X) have specific reporting tools for non-consensual deepfakes.
- Check state laws: See if you live in a state like California, New York, or Tennessee that already has likeness protections.
- Consult a digital rights attorney: If the replica is being used to sell a product or ruin your reputation, you may already have grounds for a lawsuit under existing "Right of Publicity" or defamation laws.
The legal landscape is shifting. The NO AI FRAUD Act represents a massive turning point in how we define "humanity" in the age of machines. We are moving toward a world where your face and voice are treated with the same legal weight as your house or your bank account. It’s about time, honestly.
Without these protections, the "dead internet theory"—where most content is just AI talking to other AI—starts to look less like a conspiracy and more like an inevitable Tuesday. Protecting original human expression isn't just about money; it's about making sure that when we see a human on a screen, we can actually trust that it’s a human.
Stay informed by following the progress of HR 6943 on Congress.gov. You can also look into the advocacy work of the Human Artistry Campaign, which is a coalition of over 150 organizations supporting these types of protections. The more people understand that "digital theft" isn't just about files, but about identity, the faster these protections will become reality.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Review your digital footprints: Check the privacy settings on platforms where you have uploaded high-quality audio or video of yourself.
- Contact your representative: If you feel strongly about the NO AI FRAUD Act, use a service like Common Cause to find your local rep and tell them your stance on HR 6943.
- Audit AI tool usage: If you use AI tools for business, ensure your license agreements explicitly state that the training data and outputs do not infringe on individual publicity rights.
- Support authentic creators: In a world of AI noise, choosing to support human-made art and journalism helps maintain a market for genuine human likeness.