House Creative Arts & Entertainment Committee, February 18, 2026

Transcript

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1. 0:08:59

   Good morning, everybody. Sorry for the delay. Had a little group, uh, meeting from Dalton this morning, uh, right after Ways and Means I had to say hello to. So real quick, if, uh, uh, Mr., uh, Tran, Representative Tran, do you mind saying a prayer?

2. 0:09:14

   Sure.

3. 0:09:14

   What number? Number nine.

4. 0:09:17

   I... There's no number on my mic.

5. 0:09:18

   Here you go.

6. 0:09:19

   Okay. Heavenly Father, thank you for gathering us here today. May you lead us with wisdom, courage, and boldness, and continue to bless everyone in this room and throughout the halls of this great chamber. Thank you. Amen.

7. 0:09:39

   Amen.

8. 0:09:39

   Thank you so much. And we have a visitor today real quick that wants to introduce herself. I'm gonna let her get that out of the way so she doesn't feel like she's stuck listening to us fight over things this morning. I think you-

9. 0:09:51

   Good morning.

10. 0:09:51

    I think it's one person.

11. 0:09:52

    Hey, can y'all hear me?

12. 0:09:53

    Yep.

13. 0:09:54

    Hey, I just wanted to come over and introduce myself. Some of you may recognize me, but, um, I am Gracie Beasley. I'm the new senior manager of Government Affairs and Policy with the Department of Economic Development. Um, I used to work with a contract firm, so this is my fifth session around here. And so yeah, I just wanted to say hey. And if y'all have any questions for the department, if y'all want any data from your communities or anything like that on business recruitment or trade or arts grants specifically, um, please do not hesitate to reach out. And I want to say thank you to Chairman Carpenter for being on our arts council, um, being supportive of the arts.

14. 0:10:25

    But yeah, so anything y'all want to know, I'm here. And also, I gave my information to the committee admin, so if y'all need my information, either catch me, I'm here every day, or connect with her. But thank y'all.

15. 0:10:36

    Thank you so much for being here. I know you got a meeting today at 2:00. I'll do the best I can to get there, but, uh, appreciate what you guys do. We will circle back here in a couple of weeks after crossover and do a kinda informational session on the industry, uh, the concerns, uh, what can we do as a, as a body to continue to make sure that film and music, et cetera, is thriving in the state. So we are not ignoring those, those things that are going on. We will addre- we will have those conversations as we move forward. So thank you for what you do.

16. 0:11:07

    All right, at that point, let's, let's call up, uh, let's see, what would be... Was it vice-chairman now? Is that, is that what we call you now? Vice Chairman Hong on House Bill 566. This is a measure that we did discuss last year. It's drawn some, uh, serious conversation, so we look forward to it. Thank you.

17. 0:11:27

    Thank you, Chairman. Where do I sit?

18. 0:11:28

    Wherever you want. A vice chair sits wherever she wants to.

19. 0:11:32

    I will sit right here. And, uh, may I invite Kasey come up, uh, as well?

20. 0:11:38

    If, if, if he'll put a hat on. The glare off the fluorescent lights is blinding sometimes.

21. 0:11:43

    I'm not putting on a hat.

22. 0:11:46

    Too, too soon. Too soon. Too early in the morning to be re- If he'd have brought everybody a, a, a coffee, then maybe we coulda had a g-

23. 0:11:54

    No.

24. 0:11:54

    I guess that'd be buying votes though, so don't bring us a coffee. No, that's-

25. 0:11:58

    We have no music.

26. 0:11:58

    Oh yeah, we don't even have walk-up... She came up last year to walk-up music. I believe it was Metallica.

27. 0:12:02

    It was.

28. 0:12:03

    Yeah. There we go. So let me see if I can find your microphone. Bear with me just a second. See that?

29. 0:12:10

    Uh, yes.

30. 0:12:12

    All right. Thank you very much.

31. 0:12:13

    All right.

32. 0:12:13

    The floor is yours.

33. 0:12:14

    Thank you, Chairman and members of the committee. I present HB 566. Um, there is a sub in your folder. It's LC 64-0068S. Um-

34. 0:12:30

    We got 5901126S.

35. 0:12:36

    Do we have a copy of it?

36. 0:12:37

    126S.

37. 0:12:39

    Um-

38. 0:12:39

    So-

39. 0:12:40

    So I, I can just kinda go over-

40. 0:12:42

    Yeah, so-

41. 0:12:43

    ... the intent of the bill

42. 0:12:44

    ... yeah, well, there's, there's been some conversations overnight at the last minute about, uh, new versions and making sure people are getting comfortable with the new version. So let's just go over kinda, let's go, let's talk about where we're at. Let's talk about where we're going. Um, let's allow people that ha- that aren't for it talk about it, people that are for it to talk about it. And then if we have to regroup with the new version a- and vote it out, we can, or, or not vote it out. But, uh-

43. 0:13:14

    Sure. Thank you

44. 0:13:14

    ... I definitely wanna go over this legislation.

45. 0:13:16

    And, and that is, that is correct. And, um, we will have, we will be amending to add some, um, lines and provisions, and so even the sub that I have, some of the lines don't match. So we're still working on this bill. But I wanted to present it to the committee. Um, the committee heard this last year. So essentially what this bill does is to protect the voice and visual likeness of all individuals from unauthorized computer-generated recreations from generative AI and other technologies.

46. 0:13:49

    As we all know, as AI technologies, um, are having breakthroughs, we must establish a clear right to control digital replicas of one's own voice and image. So this bill will prevent AI creating a fake version of you by using your voice or your likeness without your permission, um, in the media field. So last year I had an example of the song Heart on My Sleeve, which was created with AI-generated replicas of the voices of pop stars Drake and The Weeknd.

47. 0:14:23

    And as soon as it got on the music platforms, it accumulated hundreds and thousands of, uh, listeners, and I, I think it ended up being, like, the number one song that week. Um, and as soon as it was identified as fake, it was remove- removed from the platforms. Um, this bill will ensure that any type of, um, replicas will be removed, and if any platforms decide not to remove it, then there will be repercussions and penalties.

48. 0:14:54

    So the bill will identify and have, um- Uh, have definitions of digital fingerprint, digital replica, online service. And so the first part of the bill will go through the definitions. Um, the second part will go through liability, what would be, um, considered, um, what would-- what type of activities will be considered as, um, holding somebody liable.

49. 0:15:27

    So, uh, without consent, there's actual knowledge that we've included. Um, what changed from the last year's bill to this bill is that we are including a safe harbor, uh, provision, so making sure that we outline what would not be liable. So, um, if, if there is a good faith to remove, um, as soon as there is notice and as soon as practic- practicable. Um, and so we- we're including a safe harbor provision in the new bill as well.

50. 0:16:04

    And then there's a notification process. Um, there's a registration process, and then the remained- remainder of the bill will go through the damages and money damages. Um, so it is a, a long bill. It is a complicated bill. There are a lot of parties and, and wanna, wanna thank the parties that have been involved in this conversation. And there is a federal bill. Um, and so last year's bill, uh, was-- We're, we're trying to, uh, get it and model our state bill to the federal bill.

51. 0:16:42

    So last year's bill, um, was modeled after the last year's federal bill, and there have been changes since. And so therefore, that's why we're trying to make the changes to this bill to model after the current federal bill as well. And, and if I may, um, Brian Hudson can talk a little bit about what's going on on the federal level that we're trying to also establish here in the state. It is-

52. 0:17:09

    Do you want to do that?

53. 0:17:10

    Yeah.

54. 0:17:13

    Uh, Mr. Hudson, if you don't mind letting us know who you represent, and then do your, do your thing.

55. 0:17:18

    Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, thank you, members of the committee. Mr. Chairman, thanks for having me. Thank you for that very kind introduction when I walked up as well. Very, very much appreciated. Um, so good morning. My name is Brian Hudson. I think I know everybody on the committee, but as a reminder, I represent, for this space, I represent the Recording Industry Association of America, which is the record companies, the gold platinum records that everybody sees for their favorite artists. I also represent, uh, the Recording Academy, which puts on the Grammys, and then I represent, uh, an organization called Georgia Music Partners, which is a kind of a coalition, if you will, of artists, songwriters, attorneys, artists, uh, venue managers, uh, artist managers, et cetera, et cetera.

56. 0:17:59

    Um, we very much support this legislation, and we appreciate the vice chair, uh, for bringing this forward. As, as Representative Hong, uh, mentioned, we are-- we have a very delicate, uh, coalition at the federal level, and some of the folks in that coalition are in this room and, and good friends of mine. We are trying to maintain that at the state level. And so you asked the question, why are we work-- I'm sorry, I'm trying to get everybody with this, with this angle. Uh, you asked why are we working at a state level and not waiting on Congress? I think everybody knows the answer to that, 'cause Congress doesn't do anything, um, unfortunately.

57. 0:18:33

    This is really a federal issue that needs to happen. Uh, we very much support it at a federal level. I've worked on similar issues in the past for other clients, where the federal government, the Congress just failed to act, and Georgia took the lead on an issue related to organized retail crime. And then fortunately, about eight months later, the Congress passed and the president signed a very, very similar bill. We're taking a very similar approach here. As Representative Hong mentioned, we are... And I apologize that we didn't have this sub ready for all my friends on this committee.

58. 0:19:04

    Uh, we were scrambling, as the chairman mentioned last night, when we realized it wasn't ready. Uh, and I say it's not ready 'cause, again, as I mentioned, we have a delicate coalition that we wanna make sure, uh, that we s- my clients support at the federal level, we wanna make sure it's exactly the same at the state level. Uh, because if a federal bill, hopefully when a federal bill passes, there won't be patchwork. It'll be the same thing here in Georgia. That is our goal from my clients' standpoint, and I, I think I can, uh, say that as far as the coalition as well. But this, this basically gets down to this. I mean, think of it this way.

59. 0:19:36

    I- if AI is going to make a fake version of your voice and your likeness, you should be able to have the right to give permission to use that. Um, and just so for everybody knows, I'm a musician. I do a lot of studio work, and I've worked with some artists. Uh, Kiefer Sutherland is one of them. He's, uh, somebody I worked with. If you guys know Kiefer Sutherland, the actor, he has a very unique voice. He has not given me permission to say this, but I, I, I'm just saying this 'cause he's an example of a very unique voice. If someone uses his voice, you know it's his voice.

60. 0:20:07

    When you hear his voice in a commercial, you say, "Oh, that's the guy from 24," or that's whatever. Morgan Freeman's another one. He-

61. 0:20:14

    I'd say Young Guns. Sorry to interrupt.

62. 0:20:16

    Young Guns, yeah, that was early on. Um, but, you know, use his voice or s-some, you know, Darth Vader's voice. You know, we all know who that is. So if you, if you steal his voice, he has no way to, to replicate that-- excuse me, to, to protect that. And so this bill basically says you have the right to, to control your voice and your likeness, and you have the right to give permission to whomever you want. And these platforms, video games, movies, whatever, can use those voice, the voices and the images with permission, just like an intellectual property for something else that's not- kind of intangible, and that's the, that's the challenge here is it's intangible.

63. 0:20:57

    And so this basically gives a person the right to... A right holder, basically, which is referenced in the legislation, to have the ability to say, "You can use this," or, "You cannot use this." And if it's used illegally, as Representative Hong mentioned, there, there's a safe harbor language, which it's not in the version yet, we gotta make sure it's in there, that says if you take reasonable steps to take it down, you're not liable. We think that's a fair approach. Um, but if you're just using it blatantly and, and not getting permission, that's wrong.

64. 0:21:27

    Uh, the music industry, as a lot of folks in this, in, on this committee knows, it is rapidly changing. And whether it's changing for the good or the bad, that's up to everybody's decision. But we've, we've gone from records and artists signing huge deals with record companies and making money off of the, the physical copy of a vinyl or a CD or a tape or whatever you wanna call it, to streaming now. Artists just aren't getting paid like they used to, unfortunately. That is another federal issue that we continue to fight for. Um, so the, the revenue is depleting.

65. 0:22:01

    Uh, they're still getting paid, just not as much as they were. So the focus is on touring. And of course during COVID, touring came to a complete halt. Of course, that's picking back up no- now, thank goodness. So touring is a big part of where these artists are making their money. So if we don't have protections in place, and whoever is gonna take their voice and their likeness and steal it from them, that's just gonna continue to erode their revenue stream of something that's their own creative content, and that's something I, I... Obviously you can tell I'm pretty passionate about it. Uh, something I think Georgia needs to be a leader on as far as protecting that.

66. 0:22:35

    Well, let's see. Do we have any questions? 'Cause I think there's... I mean, I've got some, but I'm gonna allow the committee. Uh, number four.

67. 0:22:42

    Thank you, Brian. Um, first of all, how do I know that you're actually the voice behind Brian- ... and the likeness? I mean-

68. 0:22:48

    That's a good question.

69. 0:22:50

    Well, just a quick question. How many other states have passed this?

70. 0:22:53

    So Tennessee has, um... They took the lead on this, as you can imagine, with Nashville. Uh, they passed a version called the Elvis Act. Um, that is not this bill. Um, theirs went a little bit further than I think some of the, some of our coalition at the federal level would have preferred. But what that did is it got... It, it, it started the conversation at a, at a national level, frankly. Um, and so we, I say we as my clients, have taken that, the, the Elvis Act in Nashville, or Tennessee, excuse me, and taken it to the federal level and really worked closely with a lot of different coalition members, from tech companies to other creators, to unions, uh, et cetera.

71. 0:23:34

    It's kind of a whole col- conglomeration of, of coalitions. But Tennessee's the first one that's passed it, and I think this bill has been introduced in a number of, number of other states. Uh, but Tennessee's the one that, that's passed it so far. But a different version. This one we think is a lot more, uh, it's, it's got a l- lo- much larger coalition than the, than the Elvis Act.

72. 0:23:53

    Thank you, Mr. Chair.

73. 0:23:54

    Thank you for the question.

74. 0:23:55

    Number three.

75. 0:23:57

    Good morning. Um, so most of the bad actors, I would think, would be global, right? So how would this be enforced globally in terms of if the bad actor is overseas or...

76. 0:24:15

    Um, so obviously this is gonna be state law. And so anything that is, um, that the act is happening in the state would be the only thing that this would be, uh, applicable to. And so unfortunately, if there is a, somebody from another country that is replicating it and people in Georgia are listening to it, there's nothing that we can do, and that's just in law in general, and state law can't control that. But anybody that is doing the act here in Georgia, this would apply to.

77. 0:24:49

    Okay.

78. 0:24:50

    Mr. Chairman, may I respond?

79. 0:24:52

    Yeah, please. Yeah, please.

80. 0:24:53

    Um, I think you can also look at IP addresses and things like that as far as if someone is initiating posting a, a digital replica fake, um, you could tie it back to that person in Georgia. But, um, that's, that's just an example.

81. 0:25:07

    Yeah. Good question. Thank you.

82. 0:25:10

    Number nine.

83. 0:25:12

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So I started working in the industry in 2013, 2014. And on some of the bigger productions, uh, they scanned my face, my bo- every inch of me. Um, and working on other productions up to recently, that continued to happen, but now they're no longer needing to do a scan for every production. And one of the things that many folks are concerned about is something like trailers, where, um, instead of calling us back in as performers to redo a scene meant for a trailer, which can be very costly, AI can redo that scene.

84. 0:25:58

    Um, with more recent contracts, there's protections there. But for those who have been in the industry a lot longer, those contracts may not have those protections.

85. 0:26:10

    Mm.

86. 0:26:10

    So I'm wondering if this has any retroactive protections- ... to digital images that are already in existence-

87. 0:26:20

    Mm

88. 0:26:20

    ... that can be faked.

89. 0:26:21

    So the, it, so when this will be enacted would be when it, it's passed, and anything that is in, that is, um, uh, any contracts or any consent would be from the date of the passing of this bill. Anything that you had indicated, I would assume that you had given permission, um, at the time and said that you can continue to use my, you know, likeness for any type of trailers, et cetera.

90. 0:26:52

    Um, if- Uh, you know, I think... And, and that you bring up a good point. Um, if however, I think if you don't have the consent of that person going forward, then they cannot use it. So, um, legally thinking, I would assume that anybody that is still using after this is i- enforced, then, uh, enacted, then they would have to c- come back to you and say, "May we use your likeness going forward for this or for that?" Or enter into, or enter into a contract where they can get consent from you.

91. 0:27:28

    Thank you.

92. 0:27:30

    Also, number two, this is good. Good stuff here.

93. 0:27:34

    Thank you. Thanks for working on this. Just, um, so we're regulating the online services. Is that who we're regulating? Like, line tw- 224 says that the claimed violations would go to those online services. So it's not to the actual individual that recreates the item, right? So user XYZ recreates this sound that was Drake. Twitter, I mean, excuse me, X, gets the violation, not user XYZ.

94. 0:28:07

    Is that how we're doing it?

95. 0:28:08

    There, um, so on the version that you will get, we actually expanded, um, the definition of online services as well, and I'm not... And I apologize, I'm not sure if your version has it, but there is a definition of individual as well in there. Um, and if you can give me a minute here.

96. 0:28:28

    I'm sure there is.

97. 0:28:28

    Yeah. Um, so if you look at, um, and I don't... Uh, here.

98. 0:28:35

    It's very forward.

99. 0:28:35

    I'll, I'll go ahead and... 10... If you look at 10-1-975, which is page... May not exist in your pages.

100. 0:28:49

     Okay.

101. 0:28:49

     9, 5, 6. So we also, um, included when it comes to the liability section, we had stated any individual or entity that engages in this. So it's not just online services, it's also individuals that could be liable.

102. 0:29:04

     Okay, so just following up. So if so, user XYZ gets a... You know, the platform has to choose how they do this. Right now, a platform has a place where I could report user XYZ as spam for this post, but walk me through how this looks. User XYZ receives possibly a message from the platform saying- ... we've got a report on this. The platform can actually take it down-

103. 0:29:32

     Mm-hmm

104. 0:29:32

     ... but the user could also take it down. And so, say the user takes it down, or say the platform takes it down, where does this go legally in the process? Thank you.

105. 0:29:41

     Well, thank you. I- if they take it down, then there is no liability.

106. 0:29:45

     Mm-hmm.

107. 0:29:45

     If there was good faith as after some type of notice, then whether it be the online service that has to take it down or a individual that has to take it down, down, then there won't be any liability. If there is, if you suspect that there is some type of, of, um, fake act that you report and the online services does not take it down, then you can go ahead and file a claim with the registered agent of the Secretary of State and start a civil action.

108. 0:30:22

     I just got nervous when you said civil action. I'm just, I'm just kidding. I get, I do sweat a little bit when I hear civil action, though. It does make me a little nervous.

109. 0:30:28

     Mr. Chairman?

110. 0:30:28

     Yes, sir.

111. 0:30:29

     So Representative Cannon, I think the main goal of this is to protect, uh, is to protect the individual more, more so than I think regulating, uh, um, an online platform. But the, also the goal of this is for public, because if it's a private, and, and I had this conversation yesterday with one of my clien- one of these, these clients w- uh, working on this bill. The focus of this is the public, um, display of these digital replicas. And so, uh, uh, of course, now we know that AI is becoming more and more prevalent as it relates to music creation.

112. 0:31:02

     This shouldn't address that as, as long as it's an original creation. But if they use somebody's voice as far as their song and then publish it or put it on Spotify, kinda like the fake Drake issue, then that's be- that's the, that's the challenge I think we're trying to protect those artists from basically theft, if for lack of a better term. Does that answer your question?

113. 0:31:26

     Mm-hmm.

114. 0:31:27

     Okay.

115. 0:31:28

     Yeah.

116. 0:31:28

     Thank you.

117. 0:31:29

     Do we think that it was Kendrick Lamar that posted the Drake song, or- ... do we know? Um, thanks so much. I'm gonna allow some folks... I, I don't have a sign-up sheet, but if you're here to, um, here to discuss the legislation on the other side of it or to support it, uh, first come, first serve. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.

118. 0:31:49

     Yes, sir.

119. 0:31:49

     Thank you.

120. 0:31:50

     Yep, yep.

121. 0:31:52

     Anyone?

122. 0:31:57

     Anybody, anybody? Speak now or forever hold your peace.

123. 0:32:04

     All right. Well, then it sounds like that, uh, the minds are coming together, um, on this issue. Obviously, it's important not to stifle innovation. It's also important that people get paid for, for their brand, if you will. And I think that's what, that's the rub I'm at, right? Is that it's, we're talking about a brand at this point, and we wouldn't allow people to use Chick-fil-A's brand on their shirt or University of Georgia's on a rug without permission. So the, it's, it's the same concept. It's just how do we balance it without stifling innovation, and I think you guys are trying to get there.

124. 0:32:39

     I do think that, uh, having the state lead so that the feds will wake up is, we do that on a lot of issues, unfortunately, myself included. I've been in the middle of some really serious, uh, fights that the feds have ignored. Uh, and so I appreciate the opportunity f- that you're bringing before us because I think it's important, and, uh, we always want to nurture our creative industry in the state. Uh, I think it's been pretty apparent that the, uh, the State of Georgia, um, values our creative economy.

125. 0:33:13

     So I look forward to having this conversation. Hopefully, we can circle back up sooner than later, um, after everybody kumbaya's, and let's, let's get something that we can get moving on this thing, 'cause, um, AI's moving fast, and, uh, we need to make sure we're, uh, we're never gonna get ahead of it, but we need to at least make sure we're keeping up with it, and I think right now we're not keeping up with it. So, um, with that, anybody got anything else g- that's good for the order? Nope? All right. Well, thank you. And sorry it was so early, but I, you know, it's busy and rooms are tight.

126. 0:33:46

     So thank you very much. Y'all have a great day. We're adjourned.