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Senate amends and approves bill targeting unauthorized commercial use of artists’ likenesses via AI
Summary
First substitute Senate Bill 271 was amended on the floor and passed unanimously; sponsors said the measure targets individuals who use AI to commercialize celebrity or artist likenesses, not large technology platforms.
The Utah Senate on Feb. 27 amended and passed first-substitute Senate Bill 271, the unauthorized artificial-intelligence impersonation amendments, by a unanimous roll call.
Senator McCall moved to adopt Senate Amendment 1 to clarify that the bill addresses unauthorized commercial uses of artists’ work and celebrity likenesses by individuals seeking to monetize AI-generated impersonations, rather than holding large platforms liable. McCall said the language was developed with the Department of Commerce’s AI officer and a drafting attorney who worked on earlier social-media bills to create technical definitions targeted at individuals who commercialize others’ images or artwork.
After a brief floor exchange and adoption of the amendment, McCall moved final passage. The roll call recorded 25 aye votes, 0 nay and four absences; the bill will be transmitted to the House for consideration.
The floor discussion emphasized the sponsor’s intent to focus enforcement on unauthorized commercialization by users, not broad platform liability; the adopted amendment refines definitions to make that distinction explicit.
