California signs more than two dozen AI and privacy bills

Governor Gavin Newsom signed over 20 AI-related bills in the final days of September, Covington's Inside Global Tech reported. Wilson Sonsini counts over two dozen privacy and AI bills. This summary is drawn from those two law-firm write-ups, not from the bill texts, and it is not legal advice.

The ones that touch AI products

• SB 1000 (effective September 30, 2026, an urgency measure): removes the 1 million monthly user threshold from the California AI Transparency Act, so its disclosure duties reach any publicly accessible generative AI system in the state. It replaces the free "AI detection tool" requirement with a "disclosure verification tool."
• AB 2713 (January 1, 2027): large online platforms must let users see and inspect provenance data, and may not knowingly strip compliant provenance data.
• AB 1609 (January 1, 2027): businesses with more than $500 million in national revenue may not present a customer service chatbot as human, and must offer a way to request a human agent.
• SB 1050 (January 1, 2027): ads that prominently include a synthetic performer need a clear disclosure, with wording substantially similar to "this performance features a synthetic performer."
• SB 1111 (January 1, 2027): a protected "voice" or "likeness" includes a digital replica.
• SB 1119, "Adam's Law": companion chatbot rules for minors, with core obligations from July 1, 2027 and first independent child safety audits due January 1, 2029.
• SB 574: attorneys may not delegate the practice of law to generative AI.

What was vetoed

Wilson Sonsini notes vetoes of AB 1542, a ban on selling and sharing sensitive personal information, and SB 1130, a recording-indicator rule for wearable devices.

What to do

If you ship a public generative AI tool to California users, SB 1000 is the one already in effect. Read the firm summaries, then the bill text, before you change product copy.