- United States
- N.Y.
- Letter
Vote no on the NO FAKES Act. The bill heading to the full Senate isn't a balanced AI policy — it's a censorship machine that deletes speech on accusation and makes you pay to get it back. Platforms face $750,000 fines per work if they don't comply with takedown notices, so they'll delete first and ask questions never.
The procedural mechanics are worse than the fines. Once a single takedown is processed, platforms must permanently auto-block any content with a matching digital fingerprint — no human review, ever. To fight back, a user must file a notarized counter-notice, agree to be sued in federal court, and accept service of process. That's not a counter-notice, that's a trap. And under Section f, a court clerk — not a judge — can issue a subpoena unmasking an anonymous poster based on accusation alone, with zero judicial review.
Even Senator Lee admitted the bill raises "potentially significant concerns regarding free speech" and voted for it anyway. That's not good enough. Satire, criticism, and commentary are technically exempt, but only after the speech is already gone. The First Amendment doesn't work on a reimbursement model. Kill this bill or strip out the automatic blocking, the notarized counter-notice requirement, and the clerk-issued unmasking subpoenas before it comes to a floor vote.