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What California’s AI Likeness Laws Require: AB 2602 and AB 1836

California’s two 2024 AI likeness laws address performer contracts and certain commercial uses of deceased performers’ digital replicas—not every AI-generated likeness.
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California did not create a blanket permission rule for every AI-generated likeness. On September 17, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed two laws aimed at distinct situations: AB 2602 sets contract protections when performers authorize digital replicas, while AB 1836 addresses certain commercial uses of replicas of deceased performers and consent from their estates.

What does California’s AI actor law do?

The laws address different points in the life of a digital replica. AB 2602 concerns what a performer’s contract must say when it authorizes use of that performer’s AI-generated voice or likeness. AB 1836 concerns covered commercial uses of a deceased performer’s digital replica and consent from the performer’s estate. The state’s signing announcement and SAG-AFTRA’s account describe these protections, but are not a complete statutory analysis.

Newsom announced the signing of both measures on September 17, 2024. AB 2602 was authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra; AB 1836 was authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan. The Governor of California’s announcement describes the provisions and includes the governor’s statement that worker protection remained the state’s “North Star” as AI and digital media reshape entertainment.

How AB 2602 applies to performers’ contracts

AB 2602 concerns contractual authorization to use an AI-generated digital replica of a performer’s voice or likeness. The Governor’s announcement says a covered contract must specify the use of the replica and that the performer must be professionally represented when negotiating the contract. SAG-AFTRA describes the required use description as reasonably specific and says representation may be by legal counsel or a labor union.

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This is a contract-protection mechanism, not evidence that every AI depiction requires permission under this law. SAG-AFTRA supported the legislation and provides a union summary; readers should not treat that summary as the full statutory text. SAG-AFTRA’s signing announcement explains its account of the measure.

How AB 1836 addresses deceased performers

AB 1836 concerns covered commercial uses of digital replicas of deceased performers. The Governor’s announcement says the law prohibits such uses without consent from the performer’s estate, and names films, television, video games, audiobooks, and sound recordings among the settings it addresses. SAG-AFTRA characterizes the measure as updating protections for deceased performers’ voice and likeness rights.

The protection described here is tied to deceased performers and covered commercial uses; it should not be generalized into a rule about every AI recreation of a deceased person. The state announcement and SAG-AFTRA’s summary provide the cited descriptions.

AB 2602 and AB 1836 compared

Question AB 2602 AB 1836
Whose replica? A performer’s replica in a contract-authorization context. A deceased performer’s replica.
Mechanism described Contract provisions specifying intended use, with professional representation in negotiations. Estate consent for covered commercial uses.
Examples of use described Contractual authorization for an AI-generated voice or likeness; the cited summaries do not establish a complete list of covered uses. Films, television, video games, audiobooks, and sound recordings.

These are the principal distinctions in the state and union descriptions, not a full comparison of statutory exceptions, remedies, or application rules.

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What the available summaries do not establish

The cited announcements establish the signing and summarize central protections, but they do not establish every exception, remedy, or rule for applying the laws to a particular project or contract. For a legal decision, consult the enacted bill text and a qualified California attorney rather than relying on a short public summary. The measures’ descriptions support specific consent and contract protections—not a universal permission requirement for every AI-generated likeness or every person.

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