On September 16, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1050 by Senator Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento) at SAG-AFTRA headquarters, and the bill was chaptered the same day as Chapter 246. It makes it unlawful to publish an advertisement that prominently includes a synthetic performer without a clear and conspicuous disclosure, using wording such as "this performance features a synthetic performer" or "no human performer is depicted." The Governor's office says it also bars continued use of an advertisement found to violate the law.
The statute defines a synthetic performer as a digital figure, voice or representation created in whole or in part with generative AI that gives the realistic impression of a human performance by someone who is not recognizable as any identifiable natural person. That targets the invented AI spokesperson rather than the deepfaked celebrity, which other laws already reach. A violation is treated as a violation of Section 17500, California's false advertising statute, enforceable through the state's unfair competition law. Advertisements for expressive works such as films, television, streaming content and video games are exempt when the synthetic performer is consistent with the work itself, as are uses solely for language translation of a human performer or other accessibility features.
"Californians deserve to know when the person selling them something isn't a person at all," Newsom said, framing the law as both consumer protection and worker protection. SAG-AFTRA's Duncan Crabtree-Ireland called it "an important step in the broader effort to protect consumers from deceptive AI practices." The Governor's office presents it as building on the 2024 California AI Transparency Act and on earlier laws protecting performers' digital likenesses.
The law is narrow by design. It covers advertisements in which the synthetic performer is prominent, not every AI-generated element of an ad, and it applies only to performers who resemble no identifiable person. How regulators and courts will read "prominently" and "clear and conspicuous," and whether the rule changes how brands use AI-generated talent rather than just adding a caption, will only become clear once it is enforced.