Ted Cruz Blocks Senators’ Effort To Pass No Fakes Act
The No Fakes Act, a bill to bill to curb the use of unauthorized AI deepfakes, was blocked in the Senate on Wednesday by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who said that the legislation did not have sufficient exceptions for the use of a person’s image in satirical and political commentary.
The legislation gives individuals the right to authorize the use of their voice and likeness in digital replication. The bill includes exclusions for news, documentary and sports, as well as biographical works, or for purposes of comment, criticism, or parody, among others.
The key sponsors sought to pass the bill before the Senate leaves for the midterms, but Cruz objected, sidelining the legislation for now.
“One of my concerns about how this bill is drafted right now is it will apply to websites like the Babylon Bee or The Onion, and it leaves the decision as to whether someone’s use of a likeness falls within the exception,” Cruz said. “It creates an exception for what it calls bonafide parody, but it leaves to big tech to make the decision whether it falls in that exception or not.”
He also raised concerns over whether the bill would apply to such things as Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt’s featuring of an AI deepfake of Karen Bass, made to look like The Joker from Batman, as well as Donald Trump’s use of AI images in political communication.
Cruz said that he wanted the bill to pass, but said that his staff should work with its sponsors over the coming weeks on strengthening free speech protections.
The bill has had broad support among many entertainment industry guilds and unions, studios and record labels, as well as tech companies OpenAI and Google/YouTube.
“This bill contains the necessary broad exceptions for entire categories of speech,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a key sponsor.
She said that the protections that Cruz wanted to see in the bill “are there.”
She said that they have tried to work with Cruz’s staff on new language. She said that it will be the courts that will be left to decisions about the First Amendment, not the tech platforms.
“We have worked with First Amendment legal experts in drafting the bill, and we are confident that it is First Amendment compliant,” she said. “We have even doubled down on this language.”
She added that under the provisions, “If someone believes their content that was removed from this bill was protected speech, they can submit a counter notice triggering judicial review within 14 days if the victim wants the material to stay down. Otherwise, the content can go right back up.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), another key co-sponsor, said “We should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
The bill cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in June, and while Cruz voted for it then, he did raise issues about whether it applied to political satire and said that he wanted them to be addressed before the legislation reached the floor.
