FOR MORE INFORMATION: Aug. 13, 2024 State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz info@gonggershowitz.com
Gong-Gershowitz Led Measure to Protect Creative Workers and Crack Down on Digital Replicas Signed into Law
GLENVIEW, Ill. – On Friday, August 9th, Governor JB Pritzker signed HB 4875 into law, a major victory in modernizing Illinois’s laws to protect creative workers. This legislation updates existing Illinois law to specifically address new challenges artists face stemming from AI-generated creations and digital replicas and is a part of House sponsor Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz’s efforts to ensure state law keeps pace with the rapidly-evolving world artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
“The growing use of Generative AI has led to a situation wherein artists’ likeness can be recreated and used to generate new content without compensating – or even notifying – the human artist,” said Gong-Gershowitz. “HB4875 protects artists from this new form of economic exploitation by creating a path to restitution for victims.”
HB 4875 has been championed by recording artists and organizations supporting them for its impact on their economic outcomes. The Recording Academy has been an advocate of the bill since its introduction, with the organization’s Chicago Chapter Board Members Jeff Becker and Dani Deahl testifying in support of the legislation during hearings in the Illinois House and Senate.
“We are thrilled to celebrate Gov. Pritzker’s signing of HB 4875 as Illinois becomes the second state in the nation to update its right of publicity law to protect creators in the age of artificial intelligence,” said Todd Dupler, Chief Advocacy & Public Policy Officer of the Recording Academy. “From helping craft the original legislation to leading a lobbying day with our Chicago Chapter members, the Recording Academy has championed H.B. 4875 from the very beginning, and this victory represents the core of our mission to advance legislation that ensures a robust music ecosystem for human creators. We are grateful to Rep. Gong-Gershowitz and Sen. Edly-Allen for their collaboration, and we will continue to advocate for the music community in this era of technological change.”