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Short answer: No. California did not make every AI imitation of every actor a crime. On September 17, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed two targeted laws: AB 2602, which limits the enforceability of certain digital-replica contract clauses, and AB 1836, which creates civil liability for specified unauthorized digital replicas of deceased personalities. SAG-AFTRA agreements add separate consent, notice and compensation rules for covered productions. The result is a substantial protection framework—not a nationwide or blanket criminal ban.
The original headline was based on a real legislative event, but “illegal to use AI to impersonate a human actor in Hollywood” is materially broader than what the statutes say.
What California actually enacted
Newsom signed both measures on September 17, 2024. The governor’s announcement describes the bills as protections for performers’ digital likenesses.
| Law | Core function | Who it concerns | Main legal effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB 2602 (Chapter 259) | Regulates contractual authorization for digital replicas | Individuals providing personal or professional services, including performers | A qualifying replica provision is unenforceable for a specified new performance when statutory conditions are not met |
| AB 1836 (Chapter 258) | Protects deceased personalities from specified unauthorized replicas | Estates and other holders of postmortem publicity rights | Civil liability, generally at least $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater |
Neither law creates a general criminal offense called “AI impersonation.” Whether conduct is actionable depends on the statute, the contract, the person depicted, the purpose of the use and any applicable exception.
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What counts as a digital replica?
California’s definition covers a computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as a person’s voice or visual likeness. It applies when the person did not actually perform or appear, or when the person did perform or appear but the fundamental character of that performance or appearance was materially altered.
The replica can be embodied in a sound recording, image, audiovisual work or transmission. That does not mean every edit, visual effect or voice-processing step is automatically a statutory replica. AB 2602 excludes authorized electronic reproduction, sampling, remixing, mastering and digital remastering of a sound recording or audiovisual work by the copyright holder.
A fictional character that merely shares broad traits with a famous actor may not be “readily identifiable” as that actor. A synthetic performance that audiences can recognize as the actor is a much closer fit. The facts and the wording of the agreement matter.
What AB 2602 does to replica contracts
AB 2602 adds California Labor Code section 927. For a new performance fixed on or after January 1, 2025, a contractual provision is unenforceable as it relates to that performance when all of the statutory conditions below are present:
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- The provision permits creation or use of a digital replica of the individual’s voice or likeness instead of work the individual would otherwise have performed in person.
- The provision lacks a reasonably specific description of the intended uses, subject to the statute’s consistency rule.
- The individual was not represented either by legal counsel who negotiated the replica license with commercial terms clearly stated in a signed or initialed writing, or by a labor union whose collective-bargaining agreement expressly addresses digital-replica uses.
This is a contract-enforceability rule, not a declaration that every resulting performance is a crime. It also does not invalidate unrelated provisions or an exclusivity grant merely because a replica clause is affected. The statute’s effect is tied to the specified new performance.
The contract questions that decide the risk
- Does the clause identify the project, episode, picture, medium and intended uses?
- Does it cover sequels, future episodes, advertising, games, dubbing or translations, or are those separate uses?
- Was counsel or a qualifying union involved in negotiating the license?
- Are payment, residuals and other commercial terms clear?
- Is the proposed synthetic performance replacing work the performer would otherwise have done?
- Does the actual use stay within the agreed scope?
Producers and performers should have entertainment counsel review a specific agreement; the statute does not answer every drafting or scope dispute.
What AB 1836 does for deceased performers
AB 1836 amends California Civil Code section 3344.1. A person who produces, distributes or makes available an expressive audiovisual work or sound recording containing an unauthorized digital replica of a deceased personality may be liable to the person controlling the deceased personality’s likeness rights.
The statutory amount is generally the greater of $10,000 or the actual damages suffered, subject to the statute’s requirements and exceptions. The right can be transferred or descend through a contract, trust, testamentary instrument or California’s succession rules. California’s postmortem protection generally lasts 70 years after death, with details governed by the statute.
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An estate must still establish its rights. A lifetime assignment, trust document or other valid transfer may determine who can consent or sue. The law does not automatically give every relative control over a deceased performer’s image.
Important expressive-use exceptions
AB 1836 does not ban every depiction of a deceased person. Exceptions include:
- News, public-affairs and sports broadcasts or accounts.
- Comment, criticism, scholarship, satire and parody.
- Documentary, historical and biographical works, including some fictionalization, unless the use is intended to create—and does create—the false impression that it is an authentic recording in which the person participated.
- Fleeting or incidental appearances.
- Advertising for works that fall within the protected categories.
A commercial synthetic performance designed to make viewers believe a deceased actor actually participated is therefore a different case from a clearly labeled historical reconstruction or parody. Borderline cases remain fact-specific.
Living actors are covered, but not by a blanket ban
For living performers, AB 2602’s principal protection concerns the contract authorizing a substitute digital performance. Other claims may also matter, depending on the facts:
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- California publicity-rights law.
- Contract and unfair-competition claims.
- Copyright, trademark or false-endorsement theories.
- Defamation or privacy claims.
- Union grievances and arbitration.
Those legal theories are not interchangeable. AB 2602 does not resolve every voice-cloning, face-swapping, fan-edit or AI-training dispute, and it does not require consent in every conceivable living-person scenario.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How SAG-AFTRA rules add a separate layer
California statutes apply according to their text. SAG-AFTRA collective-bargaining agreements apply to covered work and are enforced through contracts, grievances, arbitration and negotiated remedies.
The union’s published summary of its 2023 TV/Theatrical agreement says producers must obtain consent before creating a digital replica of a principal performer or background actor and informed consent before use. The summary also describes at least 48 hours’ notice before creation, payment and applicable residuals, and restrictions on using replicas to avoid hiring background performers or to evade coverage maximums.
The union’s AI FAQ says consent is generally required for each use in most circumstances. For multi-project situations, the producer must identify each episode or picture and provide a reasonably specific description of the intended use. The agreement also provides a bargaining opportunity when a producer proposes a “synthetic performer” not based on a real human performer.
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These rules are not a criminal statute and do not automatically bind nonunion productions. A nonunion performer may need to rely on state law, a negotiated contract or another legal theory.
What changed after the 2024 signing?
The framework is still evolving. SAG-AFTRA’s current AI resources page states that members ratified a new TV/Theatrical agreement in June 2026 that builds on earlier digital-replica safeguards and adds restrictions on synthetic performers. The exact operative language should be taken from the current agreement or contract bulletin, not inferred solely from 2024 news coverage.
In March 2026, the union also said in a statement concerning reported digital replication of Val Kilmer that the applicable collective-bargaining agreement and state law required estate consent for use of a deceased performer’s digital replica in a motion picture. Read the union’s statement.
How common scenarios are analyzed
| Scenario | Likely issue |
|---|---|
| A studio scans an actor and later inserts a synthetic performance without a specific clause or required representation | Potential AB 2602 enforceability problem; potentially a SAG-AFTRA violation if the production is covered. |
| A narrowly described replica license is separately negotiated with counsel | More likely to satisfy AB 2602’s stated conditions, while scope, consent and union rules still apply. |
| A film digitally recreates a deceased actor without estate permission | Potential AB 1836 liability unless a statutory exception or valid prior rights assignment applies. |
| A documentary uses a contextualized historical reconstruction | It may fit the documentary or historical exception, but not if designed to create a false impression of an authentic recording. |
| A satirical video imitates an actor’s voice | Parody or commentary protections may matter; commercial context and other laws remain relevant. |
| A replica is used to replace background performers | The published SAG-AFTRA summary identifies this as prohibited under the covered agreement. |
What the headline gets wrong
- It turns two targeted laws into one sweeping prohibition.
- It treats “unenforceable” contract language as though it were automatically criminal.
- It blurs California statutes with SAG-AFTRA rules that depend on covered work and the applicable agreement.
- It suggests every depiction of a deceased performer is banned, despite extensive expressive-use exceptions.
- It implies every AI-generated character resembling an actor is legally that actor’s replica.
- It says nothing about the separate questions of jurisdiction, platform liability, AI training, anonymous creators or parody.
The most accurate formulation is narrower: California created targeted civil and contractual protections against certain unauthorized digital replicas, while union agreements impose additional consent and compensation requirements for covered productions.
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