HB566: HB566 NO FAKES Act of 2025; enact

Currently Georgia law does not specifically address AI-generated "deepfakes" that copy a person's voice or face. This bill adds a new article to Georgia's trade practices code (O.C.G.A. Title 10) creating a property right for every individual, living or dead, to control the use of their voice and visual likeness in realistic computer-generated "digital replicas." The right can be licensed but not sold outright during a person's life, and it survives death for at least ten years, renewable up to 70 years total. The bill lays out rules for licensing (especially stricter rules for minors), lets right holders sue anyone who publishes an unauthorized digital replica or builds a product mainly designed to create one, and sets minimum damages ranging from $5,000 to $750,000 per violation depending on who is responsible. It creates notice-and-takedown procedures for online services similar to copyright law, requires the Secretary of State to maintain public directories of designated agents and post-mortem rights registrations, and includes exceptions for news, documentaries, parody, and similar uses. The new rules would apply only to conduct and licenses occurring after the law takes effect.

• Creates a new property right letting Georgians control use of their voice and visual likeness in AI-generated 'digital replicas,' lasting through life and up to 70 years after death.
• Bans publishing, distributing, or making available an unauthorized digital replica of a person, and bans tools built mainly to create such replicas without consent.
• Sets stricter licensing rules for minors, including a five-year license cap and required court approval.
• Establishes a notice-and-takedown system for online services, including 'safe harbor' protection if they promptly remove flagged content and register a designated agent.
• Sets minimum civil damages per violation, ranging from $5,000 for individuals to as much as $750,000 for online services that ignore the takedown process, plus possible punitive damages and attorney's fees.
• Directs the Secretary of State to maintain public directories of designated takedown agents and post-mortem digital replica rights registrations.

The bill affects individual Georgians (especially performers, musicians, and public figures) whose voice or likeness could be replicated by AI; the heirs and estates of deceased people; online platforms, social media services, and AI tool developers; minors seeking entertainment work and their guardians; and the Secretary of State's office, which must run new registries.

If enacted, Georgians whose voice or face is copied by AI without permission could sue for set damages instead of having to prove exact financial harm, and online platforms would face new takedown obligations. Musicians, actors, and their families would gain a tool to fight unauthorized deepfakes, while services hosting user content would face compliance costs.

• Section 2 adds a new Article 38 to Title 10 (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-970 et seq.) defining key terms like 'digital replica,' 'right holder,' and 'online service.'
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-971 establishes the voice/likeness right as a property right, not assignable during life but licensable, and extends it after death for ten years, renewable in five-year increments up to a maximum of 70 years.
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-972 requires licenses to be in writing, capped at ten years for adults and five years (or until age 18) for minors, with court approval required for minors' licenses.
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-975 defines prohibited conduct, sets a 'good faith' notice-and-takedown safe harbor for online services, and sets minimum statutory damages of $5,000 to $750,000 per violation depending on the violator's status and conduct.
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-975(d) creates exceptions for news broadcasts, documentaries, parody, and fleeting or incidental uses, but removes those exceptions for sexually explicit deepfakes.
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-976 lets right holders request a subpoena from a state court clerk to identify an anonymous violator through an online service.
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-973 directs the Secretary of State to maintain public directories of post-mortem rights registrations and designated takedown agents, and to issue implementing regulations.
• O.C.G.A. § 10-1-977 makes the law apply only to conduct and licenses occurring after the effective date, and clarifies it does not require online services to actively monitor content for violations.

1. 2026-02-25House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
3. 2025-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
4. 2025-02-26House Second Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-24House First Readers (House)
6. 2025-02-21House Hopper (House)

• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)Primary sponsor
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-004)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)

• artificial intelligence
• deepfakes
• digital likeness rights
• online platform liability
• entertainment law