A landmark bill targeting AI deepfakes faces a US Senate Judiciary Committee vote on June 18.…
The NO FAKES Act aims to establish federal intellectual property rights for voice and likeness to combat unauthorized AI-generated deepfakes in the music industry
- Incident date
- Jun 2026
- Target
- Drake and The Weeknd
In 2023, the music industry faced a significant challenge when an AI-generated track titled Heart on My Sleeve surfaced, cloning the voices of Drake and The Weeknd. The track garnered hundreds of thousands of streams before being removed from platforms, highlighting a legal gap regarding whether voice cloning constitutes copyright infringement.
What happened
The incident involving Drake and The Weeknd served as a catalyst for the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act. This bipartisan legislation, which faces a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on June 18, 2026, seeks to establish a federal intellectual property right in an individual’s voice and visual likeness for the first time. The bill empowers individuals to authorize or block digital replicas—defined as computer-generated, highly realistic representations that are readily identifiable as the person. If passed, the right would persist for 70 years after death, allowing heirs to manage licensing.
The legislation introduces a notice-and-takedown system for online platforms, with significant financial penalties for non-compliance. Companies failing to remove flagged content could face fines of up to $750,000 per track. While the bill includes exemptions for parody, commentary, and news, it has faced criticism from groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who warn it could inadvertently facilitate internet censorship. Supporters, including major labels and artist unions, argue the protections are essential as AI-generated music continues to flood streaming services, often outpacing the ability of platforms to accurately detect or tag synthetic content.