Gov. Newsom signs bills offering AI protections for actors

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed into law two bills that will give actors more protections over their digital likenesses, addressing concerns brought up during last year’s Hollywood strike led by performers guild SAG-AFTRA.

One of the bills, AB1836, prohibits and penalizes the making and distribution of a deceased person’s digital replica without permission from their estate. The other legislation, AB2602, makes a contract entered after Jan. 1, 2025, unenforceable if a digital replica of an actor was used when the individual could have performed the work in person, if the contract did not include a reasonably specific description of how the digital replica would be used and if the actor was not represented by their lawyer or labor union when the deal was signed.

“No one should live in fear of becoming someone else’s unpaid digital puppet,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator in a statement. “Gov. Newsom has led the way in protecting people — and families — from A.I. replication without real consent.”

Newsom signed the bills at SAG-AFTRA’s headquarters in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

“We’re making sure that no one turns over their name, image and likeness to unscrupulous people without representation or union advocacy,” Newsom said in a video posted on SAG-AFTRA’s Instagram account.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher called it a momentous day because the AI protections the union fought for last year have been expanded into state law.

“A.I. poses a threat not just to performers in the entertainment industry, but to workers in all fields, in all industries everywhere,” Drescher said in a statement. “No technology should be introduced into society without extreme caution and careful consideration of its long-term impact on humanity and the natural world.”

AI remains a hot topic in Hollywood, as many workers are concerned that the rapidly advancing technology will eliminate jobs. But proponents for the new technology say that AI could be a powerful tool for creatives, allowing them to test bold ideas without being as constrained by budgets.

The new laws were part of a slew of roughly 50 AI-related bills in the state legislature, brought as the state’s political leaders are trying to address the concerns raised by the public about AI.