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Home/Regulation Tracker/California SB 942 — California AI Transparency Act (as amended by AB 853)

California SB 942 — California AI Transparency Act (as amended by AB 853)

Requires large generative AI providers to embed provenance disclosures and offer detection tools, with platform and camera-maker duties phasing in from 2027. Delayed from January to 2 August 2026 by AB 853; enforced by the Attorney General at $5,000 per violation per day.

californiaprovenancewatermarkingai transparency act

At a glance

Acronym: SB 942
Country or region: United States
US state: California
Extraterritorial reach: Yes
Current status: In force, applied in stages
Legally binding: Legally binding
Official text: Read the official text

All details 17

Instrument: State law
Applies to: Industry: Technology, Consumer apps and social media, Media and entertainment
Applies to: Type of AI: Generative AI services, Image generation, Video generation, Audio and music generation, Synthetic media and deepfake generation
Who must comply: AI developers and providers, Platforms and intermediaries, Manufacturers
Proposed: 17 Jan 2024
Effective: 2 Aug 2026
User thresholds: Covered provider: generative AI system with more than 1 million monthly users or visitors
Enforced by: California Attorney General, city attorneys and county counsel
Penalty type: Administrative fine, Injunction or order
Penalties: Civil penalty of $5,000 per violation, each day a violation continues counting as a separate violation.

Required actions

Offer a free public AI detection tool for content produced by the provider's system - Embed latent (machine-readable) provenance disclosures in generated images, video and audio and offer optional visible disclosures - Terminate licensees within 96 hours if they remove disclosure capabilities - Large online platforms and capture-device makers must preserve or provide provenance data from 2027 and 2028

Sources

leginfo.legislature.ca.govhttps://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB942

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California SB 942 — California AI Transparency Act (as amended by AB 853)

Required actions

Sources

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