IOGAN Act
Public Law 116-258 · S. 2904 · 116th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Donald Trump (R) on Dec 23, 2020 · Science, Technology, Communications
Sponsor: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Cosponsors (1): Sen. Jerry Moran
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Identifying Outputs of Generative Adversarial Networks Act or the IOGAN Act
This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support research on generative adversarial networks. A generative adversarial network is a software system designed to be trained with authentic inputs (e.g., photographs) to generate similar, but artificial, outputs (e.g., deepfakes).
Specifically, the NSF must support research on manipulated or synthesized content and information authenticity and the NIST must support research for the development of measurements and standards necessary to accelerate the development of the technological tools to examine the function and outputs of generative adversarial networks or other technologies that synthesize or manipulate content.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
H.R. 4355Related bill
IOGAN Act
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 16 actions.
- Dec 23, 2020Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 116-258.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Dec 11, 2020FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Dec 8, 2020FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed without objection.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Tonko asked unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table and consider.
- FloorFloor · Considered by unanimous consent.
- Nov 19, 2020FloorFloor · Held at the desk.
- FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Nov 18, 2020FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Nov 9, 2020CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 580.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Wicker with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 116-289.
- May 20, 2020CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Nov 20, 2019CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.