California AI law requires ad performer disclosure

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law on September 16 requiring advertisers to disclose when they use AI-generated performers in video or audio advertisements.

The law requires advertisers using artificial intelligence-generated performers to explicitly tell viewers and listeners in California.

Newsom said Californians should know when someone selling them a product "isn't a person at all." He said the measure adds transparency and protections for consumers and performers.

SAG-AFTRA, the actors' union, helped draft the legislation. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union's director and chief negotiator, said the bill would make clear when consumers are seeing synthetic rather than human performers.

The law comes as AI use remains a major issue in Hollywood, where writers and performers have previously gone on strike partly over concerns that studios could use the technology to produce content without human workers. California has also moved to regulate technology more actively than the federal government, including a recent state law restricting addictive social media features for users under 16.