California governor signs rules limiting AI actor clones

California governor Gavin Newsom has signed two bills that will protect performers from having their likeness simulated by AI digital replicas.

The two SAG-AFTRA supported bills, AB 2602 and AB 1836, were passed by the California legislature in August and are part of a slate of state-level AI regulations. AB 2602 bars contract provisions that would let companies use a digital version of a performer in a project instead of the real human actor, unless the performer knows exactly how their digital stand-in will be used and has a lawyer or union representative involved.

AB 1836 says that if a performer has died, entertainment companies must get permission from their family or estate before producing or distributing a “digital replica” of them. The law specifies that these replicas don’t fall under an exemption that lets works of art represent people’s likeness without permission, closing what The Hollywood Reporter characterizes as a potential loophole for AI companies.

“We’re making sure that no one turns over their name, image, and likeness to unscrupulous people without representation,” Newsom said in a video posted to his Instagram on Tuesday, where he’s seen alongside SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher.

The two bills’ signing may bode well for the fate of the arguably biggest legal disruption to the AI industry: California’s SB 1047, which currently sits on Newsom’s desk awaiting his decision. SAG-AFTRA has also publicly supported SB 1047. But the bill has drawn opposition from much of the AI industry — which has until the end of September to lobby for its veto.