Senators Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) have introduced the bipartisan AI Fraud Accountability Act in the U.S. Senate, aiming to address growing concerns about artificial intelligence being used for fraudulent activities.
“Artificial intelligence will help unleash innovation, opportunity, and prosperity in the 21st century economy, but we must ensure it is not a tool for fraud. The AI Fraud Accountability Act modernizes federal law to crack down on AI fraudsters targeting American families, seniors, and businesses while safeguarding technological innovation and First Amendment rights,” said Senator Sheehy.
Senator Blunt Rochester emphasized the need for updated legal protections as AI becomes more common: “With more Americans using AI every day, we need to do all we can to cut down on AI-related fraud. Our AI Fraud Accountability Act would ensure our statutes are updated to meet this current moment. Thank you to Senator Sheehy for his partnership, and I look forward to working together on this urgent issue.”
The legislation responds to an increase in scams involving AI-generated voice and video impersonations that target individuals and organizations. The bill seeks to update federal law so consumers are better protected from digital impersonation fraud while also ensuring legitimate uses of technology remain protected.
A companion bill has been introduced in the House by Representatives Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Darren Soto (D-Fla.). Congressman Buchanan stated: “As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, criminals are exploiting it to scam hardworking Americans. We are seeing a disturbing rise in AI-generated voice clones and deepfake videos that convincingly impersonate loved ones, business executives, government officials and trusted institutions to steal money. Congress must act to stay ahead of these threats by modernizing federal law to keep up with emerging technology. The AI Fraud Accountability Act makes clear that if you use AI to defraud Americans, you will be prosecuted.”
Congressman Soto added: “As AI rapidly evolves, it is critical for us to ensure that the technology isn’t being misused to cause harm. We’ve unfortunately seen cases where it is used to create realistic impersonations of real people. I’m proud to join this bipartisan legislation to set guardrails and prevent these deceptive practices from taking place.”
Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, voiced support for the measure: “The threat of AI generated scams and deepfake fraud call for urgent, bipartisan action. The AI Fraud Accountability Act provides legal tools to protect consumers and hold bad actors accountable. Thank you, Senators Sheehy and Blunt Rochester and Representatives Buchanan and Soto for leading this effort to combat fraud. We strongly support this legislation and look forward to continuing to work across Congress to help build a safer digital ecosystem for everyone.”
Organizations supporting the bill include Microsoft; National Consumers League; AARP; 60 Plus Association; Center for AI Safety; Bank Policy Institute; Business Software Alliance; Global Anti-Scam Alliance (North America Chapter); and the National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship.
If enacted into law, the bill would create a new offense under the Communications Act prohibiting false representation as another person—real or imaginary—using highly realistic digital impersonation with intent to defraud someone out of money or valuables. This includes audio or visual depictions created or manipulated by technology that appear authentic.
Penalties could involve imprisonment, fines or forfeiture of proceeds from fraudulent acts using such technologies. Civil violations would be handled as unfair or deceptive acts under existing Federal Trade Commission authority.
Additionally:
– The FTC would be tasked with identifying foreign countries most associated with digital impersonation frauds.
– International cooperation agreements would be pursued against overseas perpetrators.
– A working group led by NIST—including DOJ representatives, FTC officials, law enforcement agencies, industry stakeholders and technical experts—would develop best practices against digital impersonation schemes.
– The legislation clarifies that parody, satire journalism or other speech protected by the First Amendment remains unaffected.
