AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2026
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2026
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2026
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2026
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
95
Introduced by Assembly Member Wicks
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry)
February 20, 2026
An act to amend Section 22757.3.1 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to artificial intelligence.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal committee: no Local program: no
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
Existing law, the California AI Transparency Act, requires, among other things, a person that creates, codes, or otherwise produces a generative artificial intelligence (AI) system that has over 1,000,000 monthly visitors or users and is publicly accessible within the geographic boundaries of the state to make available an AI detection tool at no cost to the user. The act Existing law requires the AI detection tool to, among other things, allow a user to assess whether the image, video, or audio content was created or altered by that person’s generative AI system. Existing law makes the act
defines terms for these purposes and makes these provisions generally operative on August 2, 2026.
This bill would instead require a large online platform to detect any system provenance data that is embedded into, attached to, or associated with content, as specified.
The California AI Transparency Act requires a large online platform to provide a user interface that, among other things, makes certain information clearly and conspicuously available to users. The act requires that information to include whether provenance data or digital signatures are available.
This bill would instead require that information to include whether provenance data or digital signatures are embedded into, attached to, or otherwise associated with the content.
The California AI Transparency Act requires a large online platform to allow a user to inspect all available system provenance data that is compliant with widely adopted specifications adopted by an established standards-setting body in an easily accessible manner. The act specifies 3 means of inspection, including directly through the large online platform’s user interface, allowing a user to download a version of the content with its attached system provenance data, and providing a link to the content’s system provenance data displayed on an internet website or in another application either by the large online platform or a third party.
This bill would instead require a large online platform to allow a user to inspect any system provenance data that is embedded into, attached to, or associated with content, as specified. The bill would allow a large online platform to satisfy that requirement by any of the 3 means of inspection, as revised by the bill. The first would be by displaying the system provenance data directly through the large online platform’s user interface. The second would be by providing a link to an internet website or other application that displays the system provenance data, including a website or application operated by a third party. The third would be by allowing a user to download any provenance data embedded into, attached to, or otherwise associated with the content, subject to any applicable federal copyright laws, in a format that cannot be easily embedded into, attached to, or associated with unrelated content.
The California AI Transparency Act prohibits a large online platform from knowingly stripping provenance data or a digital signature, as specified, from content uploaded or distributed on the large online platform.
This bill would prohibit a large online platform from knowingly stripping provenance data or a digital signature that is downloaded from the large online platform.
Existing law also requires a large online platform to comply with specific duties relating to artificial intelligence, including, among other duties, allowing a user to inspect all available system provenance data that is compliant with widely adopted specifications adopted by an established standards-setting body by specified means. Existing law prohibits a large online platform from knowingly stripping any system provenance data or digital signature that is compliant with widely adopted specifications adopted by an established standards-setting body from content uploaded or distributed on the large online platform. Existing law makes these provisions, relating to a large online platform, operative on January 1, 2027.
This bill would revise the duties and prohibitions applicable to a large online platform relating to artificial intelligence, including the requirement for allowing a user to inspect system provenance data. The bill would specify that these provisions do not require a large online platform to take any action with respect to provenance data, system provenance data, or digital signatures that are not compliant with widely adopted specifications issued by an established standards-setting body.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 22757.3.1 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
22757.3.1.
(a) A large online platform shall do all of the following:
(1) Detect whether any provenance data is embedded into, attached to, or otherwise associated with content distributed on the large online platform.
(2) (A) Provide a user interface that reliably indicates whether content was any system provenance data or digital signature embedded into, attached to, or otherwise associated with content identifies the content as having been
generated or substantially altered by a GenAI system or captured by a capture device.
(B) The user interface required by this paragraph shall make clearly and conspicuously available to users information sufficient to identify the content’s authenticity, origin, or history of modification, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i) Whether provenance data is embedded into, attached to, or otherwise associated with the content.
(ii) The name of the GenAI system or capture device that created or substantially altered the content, if applicable.
(iii) Whether any digital signatures are embedded into, attached, attached to, or otherwise associated with the content.
(3) Allow a user to inspect any system provenance data embedded into, attached to, or otherwise associated with the content in an easily accessible manner. The large online platform may satisfy this requirement by any of the following means:
(A) Displaying the system provenance data directly through the large online platform’s user interface pursuant to paragraph (2).
(B) Providing a link to an internet website or other application that displays the system provenance data, including a website or application operated by a third party.
(C) Allowing a user to download any provenance data embedded into, attached to, or otherwise associated with the content, subject to any applicable federal copyright laws, in a format that cannot be easily embedded into, attached to, or associated with unrelated content.
(b) The obligations set forth in subdivision (a) shall not be construed to require a large online platform to maintain, display, or allow a user to download personal information.
(c) A large online platform shall not, to the extent technically feasible, knowingly strip any system provenance data or digital signature from content uploaded to, distributed on, or downloaded from the large online platform.
(d) This section does not require a large online platform to take any action with respect to provenance data, system provenance data, or digital signatures that are not compliant or interoperable with widely adopted specifications issued by an established standards-setting body.
(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2027.