Comment by Martina McBride

Chairman Blackburn, Ranking Member Klobuchar, Senator Coons, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to speak about S. 1367, the NO FAKES Act of 2025, a landmark effort to protect human voices and likenesses from being cloned by artificial intelligence without consent. I am so grateful for the care that went into this effort, and I want to thank you and your colleagues for making this issue a priority. [...] But today, my voice and likeness, along with so many others, are at risk. AI technology is amazing and can be used for so many wonderful purposes. But like all great technologies, it can also be abused. In this case, by stealing people's voices and likenesses to scare and defraud families, manipulate the images of young girls in ways that are unconscionable, impersonate government officials, or make phony recordings posing as artists like me. It is frightening, and it is wrong. [...] The NO FAKES Act is a perfect complement to that effort by preventing AI deepfakes that steal someone's voice or likeness and use them to harass, bully, and defraud others or to damage their career, reputation, or values. The NO FAKES Act would give each of us the ability to say when and how AI deepfakes of our voices and likenesses can be used. If someone doesn't ask before posting a harmful deepfake, we can have it removed without jumping through unnecessary hoops or going to court.