A Commons private member's bill on consent to AI-generated likenesses has had its first reading and is not law

Key takeaways

• The Parliament record shows the bill as not an Act, introduced in the Commons on 20 October 2026.
• It is a Private Members' Bill (Presentation Bill), not a government measure.
• The long title names consent, civil action, offences and provider duties as the bill's subjects.
• Second reading is listed for 27 November 2026. No bill text was available to us.

What is the Artificial Intelligence (Consent and Misuse) Bill?

It is a bill in the House of Commons, identified as ID 4310 in the Parliament Bills API. Dawn Butler, a Labour member, is its sponsor. The record lists the Commons as both the originating and current house. The Parliament news item attached to the bill says it is a Private Members' Bill presented to Parliament on Tuesday 20 October 2026. The bill type is Presentation Bill, which Parliament describes as a route where members formally introduce the title but do not speak in support, and which "rarely become law".

What would the bill do?

Only the long title is available to us. It opens: "A Bill to make provision about a requirement for consent to generate a likeness of a person using, or with the assistance of, artificial intelligence".

It then lists four further subjects. The bill would make further provision relating to that consent requirement. It would make provision about civil action where the requirement is not met, and about offences relating to creating or disseminating such likenesses. It would also make provision about duties on providers of artificial intelligence technology in relation to misuse of that technology to generate likenesses. A long title states subjects, not content, so we cannot say who would be liable, what counts as a likeness, whether voice is covered, or what penalties or defences would apply.

How far has it got, and how likely is it to pass?

The record shows a first reading on 20 October 2026 and a second reading listed for 27 November 2026. The Parliament item says the next stage is "scheduled to take place on Friday 27 November 2026". The API shows no withdrawal, no defeat and no Act. Parliament's own description of the Presentation Bill route is that such bills rarely become law. Whether the bill is debated, amended or taken forward depends on parliamentary time we cannot assess from the record. The comparable measures in other jurisdictions are covered in our pieces on the NO FAKES Act and the Danish likeness rights bill, which are separate instruments.

What should lawyers, media counsel and AI providers do now?

Nothing in the bill applies yet, so the useful steps are about watching and record-keeping.

• Diary 27 November 2026 and check the Parliament bill page for the printed text once published.
• Avoid advising clients that the bill's terms are settled. Describe it as a proposal with unknown text.
• Provider-side teams can note that the long title mentions provider duties, and wait for the text before scoping any change.

What we did not verify

What we opened: the Parliament Bills API record for ID 4310, its stages list, its publications list and its news item and the bill-type reference list, on 25 October 2026.

What we did not open: the bill text, any explanatory notes, the bills.parliament.uk page (it returned a browser check instead of content), Hansard, and any statement from the sponsor or government. The publications list was empty when we checked. We did not verify territorial extent or whether any other bill covers the same ground.

What we refuse to claim: that the bill is law or will pass, what any clause says, what penalties it contains, or what the government thinks of it.

Related briefings

• AI Regulation News hub
• Europe AI regulation tracker
• Attorneys and AI regulation
• NO FAKES Act and the digital replica right
• Denmark copyright bill on deepfakes and likeness rights
• Ofcom enforcement programme on intimate image hash matching
• Washington SSB 5886 on forged digital likeness