On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the most stringent regulatory law in the field of artificial intelligence in the United States to date. Three of the laws crack down on artificial intelligence deepfakes that could influence elections, and two prohibit Hollywood studios from copying actors' bodies or voices without their consent.
"California is home to most of the world's leading artificial intelligence companies, and we are working to harness these transformative technologies to help address pressing challenges while examining the risks they pose," California Governor Gavin Newsom's office said in a press release on Tuesday.
As one of California’s new laws, AB2655 requires large online platforms such as Facebook and X to remove or label election-related artificial intelligence deepfake content and create channels for reporting such content. Candidates and elected officials could seek injunctive relief if large online platforms fail to comply with the act.
Another law, 2355, requires the disclosure of political ads generated by artificial intelligence. This means that in the future, Trump may not be able to post AI deepfake ads endorsed by Taylor Swift (she endorses Kamala Harris) on TruthSocial. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has instituted similar disclosure requirements nationwide and has made it illegal to use artificial intelligence-generated voices to make robocalls.
SAG-AFTRA, the nation's largest motion picture and broadcast actors union, has been pushing for the last two artificial intelligence laws signed on Tuesday, setting new standards for California's media industry. AB2602 requires studios to obtain permission from actors before producing AI-generated reproductions of their voices or likenesses. Meanwhile, AB 1836 prohibits studios from making digital copies of deceased actors without the consent of their estates. (For example, legally licensed reproductions have been used in recent Alien, Star Wars, and other films).
California Governor Newsom is currently considering several AI-related bills, including the highly controversial SB1047, which the California Senate has sent to his desk for final approval. In a conversation with Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff on Tuesday, Newsom reportedly responded to concerns from opponents of SB 1047 that the bill could have a chilling effect on the open source community. He has two weeks to sign or veto the bill.