Senate bill would ban watermark removal, set AI content standards
The U.S. Senate introduced legislation that would make it illegal to remove or tamper with AI watermarks embedded in digital content. The Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act (COPIED Act) requires generative AI developers to add identification data to their outputs or allow creators to attach such information themselves.
The bill establishes federal watermarking standards developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It would authorize the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to enforce the regulations.
What the law targets
The legislation addresses two core problems for creatives: detecting synthetic content and controlling how original work is used in AI training. Watermarks with embedded content provenance information would help identify deepfakes and AI-generated material.
The bill would give artists, musicians, journalists, and other creators a legal pathway to prevent their work from being used in training datasets without consent or attribution.
Industry backing
SAG-AFTRA, the Recording Industry Association of America, the News/Media Alliance, and the Artist Rights Alliance have endorsed the bill.
"We need a fully transparent and accountable supply chain for generative Artificial Intelligence and the content it creates in order to protect everyone's basic right to control the use of their face, voice, and persona," said SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
What passes would mean
If enacted, the bill would let creators set terms for how their work is used and provide legal recourse when those terms are violated. This addresses growing concerns about AI companies using copyrighted material without permission or compensation.
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