California SB 1111 (Digital Replicas / False Impersonation Clarification)

Properties

kind: law
target: voice-and-likeness
jurisdiction: US, California
mechanism: Amends California Penal Code Section 540 (criminal false personation) to clarify that false impersonation includes the use of a digital replica with the intent to impersonate another, where a digital replica is defined as a computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as the voice or visual likeness of an individual, whether the individual never performed at all or the fundamental character of an actual performance was materially altered.
status: proposed
owns: Extends an existing criminal false-personation statute to AI digital replicas of voice or likeness, distinct from ca-deepfake-pornography-act (a civil, sexual-imagery-specific cause of action under Civil Code 1708.86) and from tn-elvis-act's civil right-of-publicity tort: SB 1111 works through the general criminal impersonation code rather than creating a new publicity right or a porn-specific civil claim.
source: California SB 1111 (Digital Replicas / False Impersonation Clarification)
notes: Passed the full Assembly floor on August 28, 2026 ('Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.'; exact vote count not shown on the history page), then ordered to engrossing and enrolling the same day. The official bill-status page (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1111) lists Enrolled Date: 09/01/26 and a status line of 'Active Bill - Passed'; no chapter number or gubernatorial signature is shown yet as of this check. California's 2025-2026 session adjourned sine die August 31, 2026 (per the Legislature's own 2026 session calendar and Article IV, Section 10(c) of the state constitution), so this is the bill's terminal legislative status for the regular session; it now awaits Governor Newsom's signature, per the Transparency Coalition's August 21, 2026 legislative update noting most of this year's California AI bills carry a September 30, 2026 signing deadline (deadline not independently confirmed for this specific bill). Supersedes the prior 'committee' status, which was last confirmed at the July 1, 2026 Appropriations re-referral. Carried forward from the baseline note: SB 1111 separately amends Civil Code Section 3344 to define 'digital replica' for civil right-of-publicity purposes; only the Penal Code 540 criminal false-personation mechanism described in this entity's 'mechanism' field has been directly confirmed against bill text, the Civil Code 3344 language has not been separately quoted. Status is recorded as "proposed" because the catalogue vocabulary has no value for a bill that has passed both chambers but is not yet signed; the bill is enrolled and awaiting the Governor, it is not yet law.

Provenance

Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1111

Properties

kind

law

target

voice-and-likeness

jurisdiction

US, California

mechanism

Amends California Penal Code Section 540 (criminal false personation) to clarify that false impersonation includes the use of a digital replica with the intent to impersonate another, where a digital replica is defined as a computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as the voice or visual likeness of an individual, whether the individual never performed at all or the fundamental character of an actual performance was materially altered.

status

proposed

owns

Extends an existing criminal false-personation statute to AI digital replicas of voice or likeness, distinct from ca-deepfake-pornography-act (a civil, sexual-imagery-specific cause of action under Civil Code 1708.86) and from tn-elvis-act's civil right-of-publicity tort: SB 1111 works through the general criminal impersonation code rather than creating a new publicity right or a porn-specific civil claim.

source

California SB 1111 (Digital Replicas / False Impersonation Clarification)

notes

Passed the full Assembly floor on August 28, 2026 ('Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.'; exact vote count not shown on the history page), then ordered to engrossing and enrolling the same day. The official bill-status page (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1111) lists Enrolled Date: 09/01/26 and a status line of 'Active Bill - Passed'; no chapter number or gubernatorial signature is shown yet as of this check. California's 2025-2026 session adjourned sine die August 31, 2026 (per the Legislature's own 2026 session calendar and Article IV, Section 10(c) of the state constitution), so this is the bill's terminal legislative status for the regular session; it now awaits Governor Newsom's signature, per the Transparency Coalition's August 21, 2026 legislative update noting most of this year's California AI bills carry a September 30, 2026 signing deadline (deadline not independently confirmed for this specific bill). Supersedes the prior 'committee' status, which was last confirmed at the July 1, 2026 Appropriations re-referral. Carried forward from the baseline note: SB 1111 separately amends Civil Code Section 3344 to define 'digital replica' for civil right-of-publicity purposes; only the Penal Code 540 criminal false-personation mechanism described in this entity's 'mechanism' field has been directly confirmed against bill text, the Civil Code 3344 language has not been separately quoted. Status is recorded as "proposed" because the catalogue vocabulary has no value for a bill that has passed both chambers but is not yet signed; the bill is enrolled and awaiting the Governor, it is not yet law.