Policy Tracker

Advertisement claims: health-related consumer products and services: digital replicas and synthetic performers.

CA · Legislation · 2025 · SB1146

Lena Gonzalez(D)
Isaac Bryan(D)
Josh Lowenthal(D)
Legislation
Engrossed

Record updated Aug 13, 2026

Summary

An act to add Section 651.4 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to advertisements.

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Timeline

2026-08-13

A

August 13 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

2026-08-05

A

August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

2026-06-23

A

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 1.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

2026-06-17

A

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (June 16). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

2026-06-11

A

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.

2026-05-26

A

Referred to Coms. on P. & C.P. and JUD.

2026-05-19

A

In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

2026-05-18

S

Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 4319.) Ordered to the Assembly.

Bill Text

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Amended  IN  Assembly  June 11, 2026
Amended  IN  Senate  April 16, 2026
Amended  IN  Senate  March 25, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1146

Introduced by Senator Gonzalez

February 18, 2026

An act to add Section 651.4 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to advertisements.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1146, as amended, Gonzalez. Advertisement claims: health-related consumer products and services: digital replicas and synthetic performers.
Existing unfair competition laws make various unfair competition practices unlawful, including any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising. Existing law makes it unlawful for any person doing business in California and advertising to consumers in California to make any false or misleading advertising claim. Existing law makes a person who violates specified false advertising provisions liable for a civil penalty, as specified, and provides that a person who violates those false advertising provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Existing law makes it unlawful for healing arts licensees, as specified, to disseminate or cause to be disseminated any form of public communication containing a false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statement, claim, or image in order to induce the provision of services or products in connection with their licensed professional practice or business. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions punishable as a misdemeanor and, in the case of a licensed person, provides that a violation constitutes unprofessional conduct and grounds for suspension or revocation of a license by the relevant board.

Existing law makes a person who produces, distributes, or makes available the digital replica, as defined, of a deceased personality’s voice or likeness in an expressive audiovisual work or sound recording without specified prior consent liable to any injured party in an amount equal to the greater of $10,000 or the actual damages suffered by a person controlling the rights to the deceased personality’s likeness, except as prescribed.

This bill would, subject to specified exceptions, would require a person who creates or causes to be created an advertisement that includes the image, audio, or video of a digital replica or synthetic performer depicted as a health care provider that is generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence or other computer technology to promote the sale of a health-related consumer product or service to include a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the image, audio, or video, as applicable, of the person health care provider depicted in the advertisement was generated or substantially altered by artificial intelligence and or that no human health care provider is depicted. The bill would also define terms for its purposes.
This bill would provide that a violation of its provisions constitutes a violation of specified unfair competition and false advertising laws. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also authorize the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a natural person whose digital replica is used in an advertisement to bring a civil action to enforce these provisions, and provisions. The bill would provide specify that a violation of the bill does not constitute a misdemeanor. misdemeanor under provisions regulating healing arts licensees.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NOYES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 651.4 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

651.4.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Artificial intelligence” means an engineered or machine-based system that varies in its level of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, infer from the input it receives how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments.

(2)“Creates” includes causing a video or audio media to be created through prompts to a generative artificial intelligence system.

(3)“Digital replica” has the same meaning as in Section 3344.1 of the Civil Code.

(4)(A)“Generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence or other computer technology” means when visual or audio media of a natural person is either of the following:

(i)Entirely generated using artificial intelligence or other computer technology and would appear to a reasonable person to be authentic.

(ii)Materially altered by artificial intelligence or other computer technology and that alteration would cause a reasonable person to have a fundamentally different understanding of the altered media when comparing it to an unaltered version.

(B)A visual or audio media of a natural person is not “generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence or other computer technology” if the media is immaterially altered by artificial intelligence or other computer technology, including a cosmetic adjustment, color edit, cropped image, or resized image.

(2) “Clear and conspicuous disclosure” means a disclosure that is difficult to miss, easily understandable, and presented in a manner that a reasonable consumer would notice, read, and comprehend, taking into account the medium, format, and context in which the advertisement appears.
(3) (A) “Digital replica” means a computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as the voice or visual likeness of an individual that is embodied in a sound recording, image, audiovisual work, or transmission in which the actual individual either did not actually perform or appear, or the actual individual did perform or appear, but the fundamental character of the performance or appearance has been materially altered.
(B) “Digital replica” does not include the electronic reproduction, use of a sample of one sound recording or audiovisual work into another, remixing, mastering, or digital remastering of a sound recording or audiovisual work authorized by the copyrightholder.
(4) “Generative artificial intelligence” means an artificial intelligence system that can generate derived synthetic content, such as text, images, video, and audio, that emulates the structure and characteristics of the artificial intelligence system’s training data.
(5) “Health-related consumer product or service” means a product or service that is marketed for use primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, and is marketed as having a health benefit. Examples include, but are not limited to, dietary supplements and medical and dental goods and services.
(6) “Health care provider” means a person licensed under this division.

(7)“Natural person” means a natural human individual, and does not include a firm, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or cooperative association.

(8)

(7) “Synthetic performer” means a humanlike digital figure, voice, or representation created in whole or in part using generative artificial intelligence, machine learning, or computational techniques, and not based on, derived from, or intended to depict any particular identifiable natural person as described in Section 3344 of the Civil Code. that creates the realistic impression of an audiovisual or visual performance of a human performer who is not recognizable as any identifiable natural person.
(b) A person who creates or causes to be created an advertisement that includes the image, audio, or video of a digital replica or synthetic performer depicted as a health care provider that is generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence or other computer technology to promote the sale of a health-related consumer product or service shall include a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the image, audio, or video, as applicable, of the person health care provider depicted in the advertisement was generated or substantially altered by artificial intelligence and or that no human health care provider is depicted, and shall comply with all of the following: depicted.

(1)For visual media, the text of the disclosure shall appear in a prominent location and in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer. For visual media that is video, that disclosure shall be displayed for the duration of the video.

(2)For audio-only media, the disclosure shall be read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily heard by the average listener, at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the audio is greater than two minutes in length, interspersed within the audio at intervals of not greater than two minutes each.

(c) Advertisements subject to this section shall comply with all other applicable state and federal laws. This section does not abrogate, narrow, or otherwise limit any other applicable state or federal law, including, but not limited to, Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17500) of Part 3 of Division 7. This section does not authorize use of a person’s likeness digital replica for commercial purposes without the individual’s consent.

(d)(1)The Attorney General or any district attorney may bring a civil action to enforce subdivision (b) and may seek any appropriate remedy, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief.

(d) (1) A violation of this section constitutes a violation of Section 17500 and may be enforced pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2.
(2) A natural person whose digital replica is used in an advertisement that violates subdivision (b) may bring a civil action against the person who created the advertisement and may seek any appropriate remedy, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief.
(3) The remedies provided for under this paragraph are cumulative and shall be in addition to any other remedies provided for by law, including, but not limited to, Section 3344 of the Civil Code.
(4) A violation of this section shall not constitute a misdemeanor for purposes of this article.

(5)This section does not alter or negate any rights, obligations, or immunities of an interactive computer service provider under Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States Code.

(e)This section does not apply to an advertisement that uses a digital replica depicted as a health care provider that is generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence or other computer technology to promote the sale of a health-related consumer product or service if all of the following conditions are met:

(1)The natural person whose digital replica is used in the advertisement is a health care provider.

(2)The digital replica in the advertisement is depicted as being licensed in the same profession as the natural person.

(3)The natural person has provided prior consent to the use of their digital replica in the advertisement.

(4)The natural person agrees with all of the statements made in the advertisement by the digital replica generated or substantially altered by artificial intelligence.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
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