California - SB 942 AI Transparency Act (2024)

Enacted in September 2024, the California AI Transparency Act applies to covered providers, defined as providers of a generative-AI system with more than one million monthly users that is publicly accessible in California. It is designed to help people identify AI-generated content by requiring both detection tooling and provenance disclosures. The Act was subsequently amended by AB 853 in 2025, which delayed the operative date and expanded the framework to reach large online platforms and certain capture devices.

Covered providers must make available a free, publicly accessible AI-detection tool that lets users assess whether content was created or altered by the provider's system, and must include a latent disclosure conveying provenance information in AI-generated image, video or audio content, while offering users the option of a manifest disclosure. Providers must also maintain licensee compliance and revoke access where a licensee fails to maintain required disclosures. Following the AB 853 amendment, the operative date is 2 August 2026. The Act is enforceable by the California Attorney General and local prosecutors, with penalties of USD 5,000 per violation per day.