California AI Transparency Act (SB 942)

Jurisdiction:
California
phased enforcement
Effective:
Aug 2, 2026
Full enforcement:
Jan 1, 2028
Authority:
California Attorney General
Official text Verified Mar 27, 2026

Obligations Covered

Transparency & Disclosure

Provisions (2)

GenAI Content Provenance Disclosure #

Obligation:
Transparency
enforcing
Effective:
Aug 2, 2026
Risk tier:
general-purpose
Scope:
providers

Requirements

RequirementDetails
Latent disclosureEmbed detectable, latent disclosure in AI-generated image, audio, and video content
User-facing provenanceOffer users option to include visible indicator that content is AI-generated
Detection toolsDevelop and make available tools to detect whether content was generated by the provider's system

Penalties

ViolationFine
Per violationUp to $5,000

Platform Content Provenance Detection #

Obligation:
Transparency
pending
Effective:
Jan 1, 2027
Risk tier:
general-purpose
Scope:
deployers
upcoming

Requirements

RequirementDetails
Provenance detectionLarge online platforms must detect provenance data embedded in content
User interface disclosureProvide UI disclosing availability of provenance data indicating AI-generated or substantially altered content
Hosting complianceGenAI system hosting platforms must not knowingly make available non-compliant GenAI systems

Penalties

ViolationFine
Per violationUp to $5,000