Latest news with #MartinaMcBride
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Martina McBride invokes 'Independence Day' in plea before Senate committee to stop AI fraud, deepfakes. Watch
On May 21, country singer Martina McBride appeared before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law at a hearing to speak out against AI-generated deepfakes. The "This One's for the Girls" and "A Broken Wing" singer testified in support of the No Fakes Act, a bill that would federally protect an individual's voice and likeness against unauthorized AI deepfakes and vocal clones. "I think it's important because as artists, we hopefully want to speak the truth," McBride said. "We want to build a relationship with our fans in which they trust us — they believe what we say." Getting it right: U.S. lawmakers, Nashville music industry members discuss AI McBride, appearing alongside RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier, told the subcommittee that when celebrity deepfakes are used to endorse a product, it can be harmful to the trust between fans and their audience. "I just realized sitting here that I bought a product, a collagen supplement, off of Instagram the other day, because it had LeAnn Rimes and a couple of other people," she said. "I'm sitting here thinking, 'Oh my goodness. I don't even know if that was really them.'" "We had a situation, personally, where one of my fans believed they were talking to me, ended up selling their house and funneling the money to someone who they thought was me," McBride continued. "That is so devastating to me to realize that somebody who trusts me could be duped like that." McBride added that someone who has been impacted by a deepfake could also become angry enough to someday seek retribution against these public figures. "We're on stages in front of thousands of people," she said. "We're in public places. So it's a danger to the artist as well." The subcommittee — which includes Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. and Senator Chris Coons, D-Del — also saw testimony from witnesses including Consumer Reports Director of Technology Policy Justin Brookman, YouTube Head of Music Policy Suzana Carlos, and National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) Senior Legal Counsel Christen Price. Deepfakes? Revenge porn? Trump signs bi-partisan Take It Down Act to combat fake intimate images Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist at The Tennessean. You can reach her at agibbs@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Martina McBride invokes 'Independence Day' to stop deepfake fraud
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Martina McBride Urges Congress to Pass Bill Addressing ‘Terrifying' AI Deepfakes
Martina McBride spoke on Capitol Hill in support of the NO FAKES Act on Wednesday, calling unauthorized AI and deepfakes 'just terrifying,' as she called for legislation to be passed to defend artists. 'I'm pleading with you to give me the tools to stop that kind of betrayal,' McBride said at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing, per Billboard. '[The NO FAKES Act could] set America on the right course to develop the world's best AI while preserving the sacred qualities that make our country so special: authenticity, integrity, humanity, and our endlessly inspiring spirit … I urge you to pass this bill now.' More from Rolling Stone Kristi Noem Ignores the Law - and Reality - in Tense Immigration Hearing Trump Is Trying to Take Control of Congress Through Its Library Trump Admin Accuses Dem of 'Assaulting an ICE Agent' at Newark Detention Center The bill — Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe Act — was presented in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to protect celebrities from deepfakes hijacking their likeness and images. During the testimony, the musician spoke about how deepfakes affect artists' reputations and trust with fans, especially after they die. '[My fans] know when I say something, they can believe it,' she said. 'I don't know how I can stress enough how [much unauthorized deepfakes] can impact the careers [of] artists.' The NO FAKES Act plans to create a federal right of publicity that does not expire after death and could be controlled by a person's heir for no longer than 70 years after the person dies. The bill would create a notice-and-takedown system. Platforms will need to remove unauthorized deepfakes or AI quickly after notice and cut off repeat offenders, according to Deadline. Social media sites would be shielded from liability if they comply with the act, but must use digital fingerprint technology to prevent misuse from happening again. Violators could face at least $5,000 per offense, plus punitive damages for willful misuse. The Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday also included testimony from executives at YouTube and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). 'I think there's a very small window, and an unusual window, for Congress to get ahead of what is happening before it becomes irreparable,' said Mitch Glazier, RIAA's CEO. The NO FAKES Act was introduced as a draft bill in 2023 and formally brought to the Senate in the summer of 2024. The legislation is backed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senators Marsha Blackburn, Chris Coons, Thom Tillis, and Amy Klobuchar, as well as Representatives María Elvira Salazar, Madeleine Dean, Nathaniel Moran, and Becca Balint. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Martina McBride Urges Congress to Protect Artists From ‘Terrifying' AI Tech, Says Deepfakes Are a ‘Betrayal'
Martina McBride urged Congress to support the NO FAKES Act to help protect artists from certain AI advancements on Wednesday. The country music star testified on Capitol Hill, saying that AI deepfakes were 'just terrifying' and asking for help defending musicians, actors and other artists from becoming victims to the latest tech. 'AI technology is amazing and can be used for so many wonderful purposes,' McBride said. '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 shocking to say the least, impersonate government officials or make phony recordings posing as artists like me.' She added: 'I'm pleading with you to give me the tools to stop that kind of betrayal. [The NO FAKES Act could] set America on the right course to develop the world's best AI while preserving the sacred qualities that make our country so special: authenticity, integrity, humanity and our endlessly inspiring spirit … I urge you to pass this bill now.' The NO FAKES Act seeks to provide federal protections for artists' voice, likeness and image being used in AI-generated deepfakes. It also looks to hold platforms that knowingly feature these deepfakes liable. The act also plans to create a federal right of publicity that does not expire at death but rather continues under a person's heir for no more than 70 years following death. 'It provides a remedy to victims of invasive harms that go beyond the intimate images addressed by that legislation, protecting artists like Martina from non-consensual deepfakes and voice clones that breach the trust she has built with millions of fans,' Mitch Glazier, CEO of Recording Industry Association of America, also said in hearing testimony. '[It] empowers individuals to have unlawful deepfakes removed as soon as a platform is able without requiring anyone to hire lawyers or go to court.' The testimony in support of the NO FAKES Act comes on the heels of the Human Artistry Campaign's open letter advocating for responsible AI use that was signed by over 400 entertainers back in March. Among the names were LeAnn Rimes, Bette Midler, Missy Elliott, Scarlett Johansson and Sean Astin. The post Martina McBride Urges Congress to Protect Artists From 'Terrifying' AI Tech, Says Deepfakes Are a 'Betrayal' appeared first on TheWrap.
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Industry leaders urge Senate to protect against AI deepfakes with No Fakes Act
Tech and music industry leaders testified about the dangers of deepfakes made with artificial intelligence on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to pass legislation that would protect people's voices and likenesses from being replicated without consent, while allowing use of the tech responsibly. Speaking to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee's panel on privacy, technology, and the law, executives from YouTube and Recording Industry Association of America as well as country music singer Martina McBride, championed the bipartisan No Fakes Act, which seeks to create federal protections for artists' voice, likeness and image from unauthorized AI-generated deepfakes.
The Hill
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Industry leaders urge Senate to protect against AI deepfakes with No Fakes Act
Tech and music industry leaders testified about the dangers of deepfakes made with artificial intelligence on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to pass legislation that would protect people's voices and likenesses from being replicated without consent, while allowing use of the tech responsibly. Speaking to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee's panel on privacy, technology, and the law, executives from YouTube and Recording Industry Association of America as well as country music singer Martina McBride, championed the bipartisan No Fakes Act, which seeks to create federal protections for artists' voice, likeness and image from unauthorized AI-generated deepfakes. The group argued that Americans across the board — whether teenagers or high-profile music artists — were at risk of their likenesses being misused. The legislation, reintroduced in the senate last month, would combat deepfakes by holding individuals or companies liable if they produced an unauthorized digital replica of an individual in a performance. 'AI technology is amazing and can be used for so many wonderful purposes,' McBride told the panel. '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 shocking to say the least, impersonate government officials, or make phony recordings posing as artists like me.' The No Fakes Act would also hold platforms liable if they knew a replica was not authorized, while excluding certain digital replicas from coverage based on First Amendment protections. It would also establish a notice-and-takedown process so victims of unauthorized deepfakes 'have an avenue to get online platforms to take down the deepfake,' the bill's sponsors said last month. The bill would address the use of non-consensual digital replicas in audiovisual works, images, or sound recordings. Nearly 400 artists, actors and performers have signed on in support of the legislation, according to the Human Artistry Campaign, which advocates for responsible AI use, including LeAnn Rimes, Bette Midler, Missy Elliott, Scarlett Johansson and Sean Astin. The testimony comes two days after President Donald Trump signed the Take It Down Act, bipartisan legislation that enacted stricter penalties for the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery, sometimes called 'revenge porn,' as well as deepfakes created by AI. Mitch Glazier, CEO of the RIAA, said that the No Fakes act is 'the perfect next step to build on' that law. 'It provides a remedy to victims of invasive harms that go beyond the intimate images addressed by that legislation, protecting artists like Martina from non-consensual deepfakes and voice clones that breach the trust she has built with millions of fans,' he said, adding that it 'empowers individuals to have unlawful deepfakes removed as soon as a platform is able without requiring anyone to hire lawyers or go to court.' Suzana Carlos, head of music policy at YouTube, added that the bill would protect the credibility of online content. AI regulation should not penalize companies for providing tools that can be used for permitted and non-permitted uses, she said in written testimony, prior to addressing the subcommittee. The legislation offers a workable, tech-neutral and comprehensive legal solution, she said, and would streamline global operations for platforms like YouTube while empowering musicians and rights holders to manage their IP. Platforms have a responsibility to address the challenges posed by AI-generated content, she added. 'YouTube largely supports this bill because we see the incredible opportunity to of AI, but we also recognize those harms, and we believe that AI needs to be deployed responsibly,' she said.
