California
AI behavior law: bot and agent disclosure, crawler and training-data rules, automated-agent transactions, and algorithmic decision-making.
Summary
California leads US states in AI-behavior law, with an interlocking stack of enacted statutes covering bot disclosure (SB 1001, 2019), companion-chatbot safety (SB 243, 2026), generative-AI content transparency and watermarking (SB 942 / AB 853, operative August 2026), and training-data disclosure (AB 2013, effective January 2026). The California Privacy Protection Agency's ADMT regulations (finalized September 2025) extend CCPA opt-out and risk-assessment requirements to automated decision-making that replaces human judgment, with full business compliance due by January 2027. Employer use of AI in hiring and employment decisions is separately regulated by California Civil Rights Council rules effective October 2025. Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-5-26 (March 2026) adds procurement-side requirements for state AI vendors, including bias attestations and watermarking guidance, placing government use of AI under a distinct accountability layer.
Enacted law
Government obligations
| Instrument | Category | Effective | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Order N-5-26: Responsible AI Procurement (Cal. Executive Order N-5-26 (March 30, 2026)) | Bot / agent disclosure, Automated decision-making | 2026-03-30 | Governor of California (gov.ca.gov); Morgan Lewis (morganlewis.com) |
Private sector obligations
| Instrument | Category | Effective | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Transparency Act Amendments and Hosting Platform Obligations (AB 853) (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 22756 et seq. (AB 853, 2025–2026 session)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2027-01-01 | Hintze Law (hintzelaw.com); Nemko Digital (digital.nemko.com) |
| Bolstering Online Transparency (BOT) Act (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17940–17943 (SB 1001, 2017–2018 session)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2019-07-01 | California Legislative Information (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov) |
| California AI Transparency Act (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 22756–22756.6 (SB 942, 2023–2024 session), as amended by AB 853 (2025)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2026-08-02 | California Legislative Information; Transparency Coalition (transparencycoalition.ai) |
| California Civil Rights Council Employment AI Regulations (2 Cal. Code Regs. §§ 11010–11097 (CCRC rulemaking, approved June 27, 2025)) | Automated decision-making | 2025-10-01 | Akin (akingump.com); Paul Hastings (paulhastings.com) |
| CCPA Amendment: AI and Personal Information (AB 1008) (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.140 (AB 1008, 2023–2024 session)) | Automated decision-making, Crawlers & training data | 2025-01-01 | Perkins Coie (perkinscoie.com); Securiti (securiti.ai) |
| CCPA Automated Decision-Making Technology (ADMT) Regulations (11 Cal. Code Regs. §§ 7040–7057 (CPPA rulemaking, finalized September 2025)) | Automated decision-making | 2027-01-01 | CPPA (cppa.ca.gov); Skadden (skadden.com) |
| Companion Chatbot Safety and Accountability Act (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 22948.20–22948.27 (SB 243, 2025–2026 session)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2026-01-01 | Skadden (skadden.com); Sheppard Health Law (sheppardhealthlaw.com) |
| Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act (AB 2655) (Cal. Elec. Code §§ 20012–20013 (AB 2655, 2023–2024 session)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2024-09-17 | Skadden (skadden.com); California Legislative Information |
| Generative AI Training Data Transparency Act (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 22756.9–22757.1 (AB 2013, 2023–2024 session)) | Crawlers & training data | 2026-01-01 | California Legislative Information; Crowell & Moring (crowell.com) |
Automated-access legality
Carried forward from the crawler-law index. Governs whether automated clients may access public websites in this jurisdiction.
| Dimension | Value |
|---|---|
| Authorization test | without permission |
| Public-page carve-out | yes |
| Terms-of-service browsewrap enforceable | notice dependent |
| Terms-of-service clickwrap enforceable | yes |
| Copyright exception model | fair use |
| Text and data mining — commercial status | unsettled |
| Text and data mining — opt-out mechanism | none |
| robots.txt legal weight | non binding notice |
| AI training-specific law | binding |
| Privacy regime | CCPA/CPRA |
| Trespass to chattels | requires harm |
Last reviewed: 2026-05-21. Confidence: high. Not legal advice.