Question · California AI Transparency
What is California SB 53 frontier AI law?
SB 942 requires large generative AI providers to embed hidden provenance disclosures in content their systems create, offer users a visible disclosure option, and run a free public detection tool.
01 / The answer
The short answer
SB 53, the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act, was signed on 29 September 2025 (Chapter 138, Statutes of 2025). It requires large frontier developers to write, implement and publish a frontier AI framework describing how they assess and manage catastrophic risk, and to send summaries of catastrophic-risk assessments from internal model use to the Office of Emergency Services. It sets up a channel for reporting critical safety incidents, protects employees who report serious risks, and lets the Attorney General seek civil penalties. It relies on disclosure, not pre-approval.
02 / The rule
What California AI Transparency requires
SB 942 requires large generative AI providers to embed hidden provenance disclosures in content their systems create, offer users a visible disclosure option, and run a free public detection tool. AB 853 moved the operative date to 2 August 2026, the same day EU AI Act Article 50 begins to apply.
- 01Embed a latent disclosure in covered content: provider name, system name and version, creation or alteration time, and a unique identifier.
- 02Make the latent disclosure detectable by the provider's own tool, consistent with industry standards, and permanent or extremely difficult to remove.
- 03Offer users the option of a clear, conspicuous manifest disclosure appropriate to the medium.
- 04Provide a free, publicly accessible detection tool with upload or URL input and an API, without outputting personal provenance data.
03 / Records
Records to keep
- 01Latent disclosure specification and per-release test results
- 02Logs showing the manifest-disclosure option was offered on each surface
- 03Detection tool uptime and API availability records
- 04Licensee monitoring records with discovery and revocation timestamps
Optional evidence · where Planisphere fits
Keep a record anyone can check
When your team meets a duty, Planisphere can seal the event it reports as a receipt.
A disclosure shown, a review signed, a model change approved: the event your system reports.
The event becomes a sealed receipt, dated and attributed to whoever is signed in.
Paste the receipt into Verify. No account or key.
A record supports your compliance evidence process. It is not a legal finding or a certification. Systems that call Planisphere's gate API can also hold or refuse an action before it runs.
SOURCES
Go back to the source
California Legislative Information
California Legislative Information
California State Assembly
Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity
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Related: California AI Transparency: the full guide · Does California require AI training-data disclosure? · When does California SB 942 take effect? · Do CCPA ADMT rules require a risk assessment?