NO FAKES Act Clears Senate Judiciary Committee, Federal Right of Publicity One Vote Away

The NO FAKES Act advanced unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on or around June 18, 2026, according to a statement from the Recording Industry Association of America. The bill, formally the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2026, would establish the first federal intellectual property right covering an individual’s voice and visual likeness, creating a federal cause of action against unauthorized AI-generated digital clones. Primary confirmation from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s official record is pending; the RIAA’s statement is the sourced basis for this report.

One floor vote away.

That’s where the bill stands after clearing committee with bipartisan support, consistent with the bill’s documented cross-party backing since its introduction. The committee was originally scheduled to take up the markup on June 11; the vote occurred approximately seven days later, which is a routine delay and doesn’t change the legislative trajectory.

The unanimous advancement is significant for what it signals procedurally. A unanimous committee vote means no recorded opposition from committee members, an unusually clean passage for IP legislation that touches both entertainment industry interests and the broader technology sector. It doesn’t guarantee floor passage, but it removes the most common early obstacle: a fractured committee that forces amendments before a floor vote.

Not everyone is satisfied with the bill as advanced. Public Knowledge, a public interest advocacy organization, warns the bill as advanced may lack sufficient protections against so-called “click-wrap” contracts. According to Public Knowledge’s analysis, the bill as written could allow software developers to acquire rights over a user’s voice or likeness for up to 10 years through standard app terms of service, a gap the organization argues Congress should close before floor consideration. This is Public Knowledge’s advocacy position, not a verified reading of bill text; the 10-year figure is Public Knowledge’s characterization and hasn’t been confirmed against the bill’s language.

The catch is that this concern arrives after committee passage, not before. Any changes now require a floor amendment or conference action, procedurally harder than a committee markup fix.

Context matters here. The NO FAKES Act doesn’t arrive in a vacuum. New York’s Synthetic Performers law became active on June 9, adding the most populous US state to a growing stack of consent requirements. Connecticut’s CART Act and several state attorney general enforcement actions have followed similar trajectories. Companies deploying AI voice cloning or likeness generation tools are already navigating a patchwork of state obligations. A federal law changes the architecture of that problem, potentially replacing a dozen state frameworks with a single national standard, or layering on top of them where state laws offer stronger protections.

What to watch

The Senate floor schedule hasn’t been confirmed. Don’t expect a specific date to emerge quickly, floor scheduling depends on legislative priorities that shift week to week. Compliance teams should track the Senate Judiciary Committee’s official press record for confirmation of the vote and the Senate majority leader’s floor agenda for timing.

The real question is whether the click-wrap gap gets addressed before floor consideration or lands in post-enactment litigation. If the bill passes with the contract language Public Knowledge flags, the first enforcement disputes will likely center on app-based consent workflows, exactly the kind of ToS language that most AI voice product companies currently treat as routine. Organizations should consult legal counsel before making changes to contract language or consent workflows based on bill language that has not yet been enacted.