Legal
Two federal statutes that shape creator-rights enforcement.
Plain-language context on the NO FAKES Act and the TAKE IT DOWN Act — the two federal statutes that govern unauthorized digital replicas and the federal removal mandate that runs against covered platforms. Citations link to the public bill text on congress.gov.
NO FAKES Act · U.S. statute
A federal claim over your voice and your likeness.
The NO FAKES Act would create a federal civil cause of action over unauthorized digital replicas of a person's voice or likeness. It is the legal cover for AI face-cam deepfakes and voice clones that sit on the gap an ordinary DMCA filing leaves.
NO FAKES Act
Proposed federal cause of action over unauthorized digital replicas of a person's voice or likeness. Covers face-cam deepfakes rehosted on clip mirrors, AI voice clones of creator audio, and profile-picture impersonations on fake-upload pages. The bill is intended to support both injunctive relief (a court order forcing removal) and statutory damages (money per willful violation).
Status as of August 2026: introduced in the 119th Congress; not yet enacted. Prior introduction in the 118th Congress (2024) cleared committee; reintroduced with refinements. Citations below link to the live congress.gov bill record, not a statute number, because the bill has not been signed into law.
Likeness, voice, and the publishing account
The proposed right attaches to an individual's voice AND likeness — both, not just one. The proposed cause of action runs against the platform AND the account that posted the replica, not the URL alone, which is the gap an ordinary DMCA filing leaves when a repost account re-uploads within minutes of a takedown.
- Face deepfakes on VOD mirrors and clip-repost sites
- Voice clones of creator audio on audio drop channels
- Profile-picture lifting to fake upload pages
- Promotional stills re-rendered as deepfake ad creative
Not a takedown mandate
NO FAKES is a private cause of action — it gives the named individual a federal claim, not a federal takedown queue. The platform's refusal of a takedown is not, by itself, a NO FAKES violation; the violation is the unauthorized generation or distribution of the replica. And the bill does not pre-empt state right-of-publicity statutes — it adds a federal layer on top of them.
TAKE IT DOWN Act · U.S. statute
48-hour removal. FTC teeth on day two.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered online platforms to remove non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) and non-consensual digital forgeries within a defined window of receiving a valid notice. Platforms that miss the deadline face federal enforcement action — the refusal is no longer a content-policy argument, it's a missed federally-enforceable removal obligation.
TAKE IT DOWN Act
Federal law requiring covered online platforms to remove non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) — including digitally forged intimate imagery, such as face-cam deepfakes layered onto a person's likeness or AI voice clones used in a sexually-explicit context — within a defined window of receiving a valid notice. Enforcement is led by the Federal Trade Commission, with state attorneys general empowered to bring parallel actions.
Bill: S.4569 — 118th Congress
A removal mechanism for covered platforms
Covered platforms must maintain a clear notice-and-removal mechanism for NCII and digital forgeries. A valid notice starts the removal clock. If the content is still up when the clock runs out, the platform is in violation — and the Federal Trade Commission has authority to bring an enforcement action.
Statute grid: bill S.4569 · status enacted · enforcement FTC, with parallel state AG actions.
The named individual
The act is for the individual depicted — the person whose face appears in a non-consensual digital forgery, or whose intimate imagery was shared without consent. The notice-and-removal mechanism is intended to be usable by the named individual without retaining counsel; it's a statutory self-service channel, not a copyright-style damages remedy. TAKE IT DOWN sits alongside — and does not replace — DMCA, NO FAKES (when enacted), and state right-of-publicity statutes.
This page is general context, not legal advice. Citations link to the public bill text on congress.gov — open the bill record for the current introduced text, the committee-report history, and any enrolled or signed-into-law copy.