SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San José), SAG-AFTRA, and California Labor Federation celebrate Governor Newsom’s signing of AB 2602, which requires informed consent by performers in film, music, and other entertainment sectors if studios wish to utilize their digital replicas created through artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
“With the partnership of our bill sponsors, SAG-AFTRA and California Labor Federation, and feedback from Motion Pictures Association and Recording Industry Association of America, AB 2602 strikes the right balance between industry progress and the safeguarding of performer’s rights to their digital self and livelihood,” said Assemblymember Kalra. “I am grateful that Governor Newsom has signed this bill, ensuring California’s continued leadership in the transition to the future of work in the digital age and our standing as an entertainment and technology hub.”
Digital replica is defined as a computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is identifiable as the voice or visual likeness of an individual who is embodied in a work in which they either did not actually perform or appear, or they did, but the fundamental character of the performance has been materially altered. Some contracts across the entertainment industry include clauses that grant full use of a performer’s voice and likeness forever. Non-union performers and other voice actors, such as those for video games, who are not currently covered by last year’s historic collective bargaining agreement, are especially vulnerable to this practice.
While the industry explores new opportunities with AI, performers must not be exploited or coerced into relinquishing the rights to their digital selves. AB 2602 does not prohibit the transfer of these rights in contracts, but rather ensures that performers are giving their informed consent and are represented by either a lawyer or union representative.
“Today Gov. Newsom signed an essential piece of legislation protecting individuals in the AI age. In the decade ahead, technological innovation will change human life in myriad ways, and it’s essential that our laws enshrine the fundamental right of meaningful and informed consent for any form of AI replication of people. Thank you Assembly member Kalra for working with SAG-AFTRA on AB 2602 and for your dedication to protecting Californians from AI exploitation and abuse. Your advocacy helped get this bill across the finish line, and all of us at SAG-AFTRA applaud you with our sincerest gratitude,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
“We have a responsibility to regulate Artificial Intelligence in the workplace to ensure the people actually doing the work are protected from exploitation and have a say in the use of these new technologies,” said Lorena Gonzalez, President of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO. “AB 2602 is a groundbreaking law that strengthens a working performer’s fundamental right to control their voice and likeness and consent to how it’s used. This law is a model for how we should be regulating AI in all industries and requiring workers’ input in the process of ever-changing technologies.”
Joint-authors of AB 2602 are Assemblymembers Bryan (D-Los Angeles) and Friedman (D-Glendale). Assemblymember Haney (D-San Francisco) is a principal co-author. The bill is also co-authored by Assemblymembers McKinnor (D-Inglewood) and Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita).
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Assemblymember Ash Kalra represents California’s 25th Assembly District, which encompasses the majority of San José, including downtown and open space areas in southeast Santa Clara County. He was first elected in 2016, becoming the first Indian American to serve in the California Legislature in state history, and was re-elected to his fourth term in 2022. Assemblymember Kalra is the Chair of the Committee on Judiciary and also serves as a member on the Housing and Community Development, Local Government, and Natural Resources committees.