AI Fraud Accountability Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Sheehy, Tim [R-MT]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create a federal offense and a coordinated enforcement framework to stop scams that use AI or other technology to impersonate people. It pairs criminal penalties with civil enforcement and international cooperation to deter audio and visual deepfake fraud.
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- Families and consumers: Makes it illegal to use digital audio or visual impersonations of real or synthetic people to obtain money, documents, or other valuables. Convictions can bring fines, up to 3 years in prison, and criminal forfeiture of proceeds.
- Businesses and platforms: Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to treat digital impersonation in interstate or foreign commerce as an unfair or deceptive practice and apply its civil penalties. A NIST-led Working Group will publish best practices and recommendations to guide industry responses.
- Government and international response: Directs the FTC to identify the top ten foreign source countries within 90 days and seek international cooperation on enforcement. The bill also preserves law enforcement and intelligence exceptions and asserts extraterritorial jurisdiction for offenses.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
New federal crime for AI impersonation
This bill would make it a federal crime to pose as a real person or a computer‑generated (synthetic) person in interstate or foreign communications when done to steal money, papers, documents, or other things of value. Convictions could bring fines, up to 3 years in prison, and criminal forfeiture of proceeds and property used to commit the offense. The bill would give the federal courts extraterritorial jurisdiction and apply forfeiture procedures like those in 21 U.S.C. 853. The bill would not apply to authorized law‑enforcement or intelligence activities and would say it does not limit First Amendment protections such as parody, satire, or journalism.
More cross-border enforcement for impersonation
This bill would require the Federal Trade Commission, within 90 days, to list the top 10 foreign countries where digital impersonation fraud that harms U.S. residents originates. The FTC could work with the State Department and Attorney General to enter cooperation agreements with those countries subject to existing law and must report to Congress within one year and then annually. The bill would let the FTC treat breaking the impersonation rule as an unfair or deceptive act and use the FTC Act's full enforcement powers. The Attorney General would also review and, as allowed by law, update international enforcement agreements at least every five years, with an initial review and report within one year.
NIST working group on impersonation fraud
This bill would require the Secretary of Commerce, through NIST, to start a Working Group within 30 days to develop best practices and recommendations to spot, prevent, and trace digital impersonation fraud. The group would include DOJ, the FTC, federal, state, and local law enforcement, affected industries, and experts in AI and digital forensics. NIST must hold at least one public workshop, publish best practices on its website within one year, review them by year two and at least annually after that, and send annual reports to Congress. The Working Group's requirements would end 10 years after enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Sheehy, Tim [R-MT]
MT • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE]
DE • D
Sponsored 3/4/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov