Congress Reintroduces NO FAKES Act to Tackle AI Deepfakes, Backed by Google, OpenAI

• New U.S. legislation aims to combat deepfakes by granting people more control over their digital likeness.
• The bill has garnered support from leading AI companies and the creative industry.
• Elsewhere, organizations are using blockchain to combat the rising threat of deepfakes.

U.S. lawmakers, backed by leading tech leaders, have reintroduced a bill that would grant individuals control over the use of their digital likeness—a significant step forward in the fight against deepfakes.

Originally introduced in 2023, the No Fakes Act failed to pass in Congress last year due to concerns that it could infringe on free speech rights.

Critics at the time worried the bill could hinder creative expression, including parody and satire.

Elsewhere, as deepfakes become increasingly prevalent in cybercrimes, many organizations are turning to blockchain to combat the threat.

Deepfake Bill Returns to Capitol Hill

On Wednesday, April 9, the Senate and House lawmakers reintroduced the No Fakes Act.

If enacted, the law would give individuals the right to approve or deny the use of their voice and likeness in any digital replication.

In the event of a person’s death, these rights would be transferred to their estate and remain in effect for up to 70 years.

The bill has garnered the backing of leading AI companies, including OpenAI, Google, and Amazon.

Defined Parameters and Industry Support

After its initial rejection in 2024, the bill was amended to include specific exemptions for biographical works, criticism, and parody—alleviating some of the free speech concerns.

Charles Rivkin, Chairman of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), called the revisions “vital for this proposal to be durable.”

Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, emphasized the broader implications of the bill, noting, “This impacts more than just the creative community.

“There are real-world implications for everyday people—whether it’s social media users, local political candidates, or national figures,” Mason said.

Meanwhile, in the U.K., nearly 60 entertainment organizations have united in opposition to government proposals allowing AI developers to bypass copyright laws.

The coalition has urged big tech companies to adhere to existing copyright standards when training AI systems.

Blockchain vs. Deepfakes

Alongside legislative efforts, the use of blockchain technology to fight deepfakes is gaining momentum.

Blockchain provides an immutable ledger that securely records the origin and history of digital content, making it a powerful tool for verifying authenticity.

In October, the British startup OpenOrigins announced it had raised $4.5 million in seed funding to expand its blockchain-based media verification platform.

The startup provides blockchain technology to newsrooms so media companies can authenticate digital content in real-time.

CEO and founder Manny Ahmed told Fortune : “What we try to do is not prove whether something is fake, but rather prove what is real.”

“We’re not doing deepfake detection. We are using a lot of different data points to prove that a particular piece of photo or video is real,” he added.

Meanwhile, media giant Fox Corp has also entered the blockchain space, launching a platform called Verify to track the provenance of its content online.

The platform uses cryptographic signatures to confirm the origin and integrity of media assets.

Fox has allowed other media companies to sign up for the technology, allowing the industry to secure licensing agreements more easily while controlling the use of intellectual property.