Martina McBride Urges Passage Of Bill To Curb AI Deepfakes In Latest Industry Push For Congressional Action

Country singer Martina McBride is the latest entertainer to testify on Capitol Hill on the need for proposed legislation to protect individuals voices and likenesses from unauthorized use, including in AI deepfakes.

A coalition of unions and guilds, studios and record labels are pushing for passage of the No Fakes Act, which gives individuals the right to authorize the use of their voice and likeness in digital replication.

At a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing this afternoon, McBride warned that without action, the livelihoods of younger artists could be at risk and established performers like her would face damage to their reputations.

In her own case, she pointed to her works that touch on problems like domestic violence.

“Many fans have told me that the song ‘Independence Day’ has given them strength, and in some cases, the song has been the catalyst that they need to leave an abusive situation. Imagine the harm that AI and AI deepfakes could do, breaching that trust, using my voice in songs that belittle or justify abuse.”

After failing to advance in the last Congress, the bill was reintroduced last month, with initial Senate sponsors Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

Groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Computer and Communications Industry Association opposed the bill last year, and tech giants like Meta and TikTok have yet to weigh in on the latest legislation. But this time its backers have noted the support of Google and YouTube, along with Open AI.

Klobuchar noted the recent passage of the Take It Down Act, which she co-sponsored with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and which President Donald Trump signed on Monday. That law prohibits the posting of nonconsensual explicit imagery, addressing what has been commonly called revenge porn. Backers are pointing to the bipartisan support for that legislation in making the case that the No Fakes Act should be the next step.

“The entire music ecosystem is dependent on the authentic voice and the authentic image of the artist,” said Mitch Glazier, CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America. “That is what the music industry is. If you allow deepfakes to perpetuate, you are taking the soul out of the art, And when you do that you are taking the humanity out of the art.”

Under the terms of the legislation, the digital replication right does not expire at a person’s death, and can be transferred and licensed by heirs, executors and others. That post-mortem right, though, terminates no longer than 70 years after an individual’s passing.

After initial opposition, studios threw their support behind the bill when language was updated to carve out exclusions for projects such as documentaries and biographical works, or for purposes of comment, criticism, or parody, among others. 

The bill also sets up a notice-and-takedown system, with similarities to the rights of copyright holders to get infringing material removed online.

Tech platforms won’t be liable for hosting unauthorized digital likenesses if they take them down upon notice “as soon as it is technically feasible,” per the bill. They also have to establish policies to terminate the accounts of repeat violators.

Those who post the deepfakes face damages of at least $5,000 per work, or any actual damages plus profits from the unauthorized use. Plaintiffs also can seek punitive damages if malice, fraud, knowledge or willful avoidance can be proven.

Platforms will not have to monitor their sites for unauthorized digital replicas. But there is a requirement that, after getting notice of an unauthorized digital replica, they use digital fingerprint technology to further limit their use.

Even though backers of the legislation emphasized the broad support across the industry, one exchange showed potential fissures, having to do with the use of copyrighted materials in AI training models.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) pressed Suzana Carlos, head of music policy for YouTube, on whether artists have further recourse if they upload works to the platform, and YouTube then gives that material to train AI models.

“If it is in accordance with our agreements, we will share that data,” Carlos said.

“That seems like a big problem to me,” Hawley said.

Also mentioned was the inclusion of a provision in the GOP House reconciliation bill, currently pending, that would prohibit states from passing their own AI regulation for the next 10 years,

Blackburn, however, signaled that she would oppose that provision when the Senate takes up the reconciliation bill. She noted that Tennessee enacted a right-of-publicity law to restrict unauthorized digital replicas, the Elvis Act. “We certainly know that in Tennessee we need those protections, and until we pass something that is federally preemptive, we can’t call for a moratorium on those things,” she said.

“Excellent statement,” Klobuchar said.

“Of course,” Blackburn responded.