SB 942 · § 22757.3(a)
How to add the SB 942 latent disclosure to AI outputs
Updated 16 October 2026. California SB 942, as amended by AB 853, SB 1000 and AB 2713. Not legal advice.Created
Statute wording, § 22757.3(a)
To the extent technically feasible, the latent disclosure conveys five things, directly or through a link to a permanent website: the name of the covered provider; the name and version of the system; the time and date of creation or alteration; a unique identifier; and whether the system created or altered the content. From 1 January 2029 it must also say whether the system is designed primarily as assistive technology. Last change: SB 1000 in force: what changed for providers, 30 September 2026.
It must be compatible with your disclosure verification tool, compliant or interoperable with widely recognized industry standards, and permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove or tamper with. Verda's signed registry record, looked up from the watermark, takes the link route.
- Name of the covered provider
- Signed registry record, looked up from the watermark. Names change; a signed registry record is verifiable and revocable
- Name and version of the system
- Same
- Time and date of creation or alteration
- Same; also written to the C2PA manifest. The watermark survives metadata stripping, so the record stays reachable
- Unique identifier
- The watermark itself; opaque, carries no personal data
- Whether the system created or altered the content
- Registry record, from the metadata your integration sends when it marks each item. Added by SB 1000; your system knows which it did, so it sets this per item
Article 50 of the EU AI Act does not require these fields; SB 942 does. One watermark can serve both: the AI-generated signal meets 50(2), and the payload plus resolver meets § 22757.3.
FAQ
Common questions
What information must an SB 942 latent disclosure include?
To the extent technically feasible: the name of the covered provider; the name and version of the system; the time and date of creation or alteration; a unique identifier; and whether the system created or altered the content. From 1 January 2029 it must also say whether the system is designed primarily as assistive technology. It may convey these directly or through a link to a permanent website.
Which AI outputs need an SB 942 latent disclosure?
Every image, video and audio output of a covered provider's system. Embed it at generation, inside the signal.
How hard to remove does the SB 942 latent disclosure have to be?
It must be permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove or tamper with, compatible with your disclosure verification tool, and compliant or interoperable with widely recognized industry standards.
How does Verda carry the five SB 942 fields?
The unique ID is the watermark itself: opaque, with no personal data. Provider, system and version, and time and date resolve from a signed registry record looked up from the watermark; time and date are also written to the C2PA manifest. Created or altered comes from the metadata your integration sends when it marks each item.
More of the playbook
Other sections
Seven steps to compliant
Every step from covered-provider status to the tool's retention statement, with the 72-hour licensee clock.
Open the checklist → Verification tool, § 22757.2A free checker anyone can use
Run your own disclosure verification tool, or link a compliant third-party one.
Tool requirements → Vendors comparedScored against the statute, not a brochure
Verda, SynthID, Adobe Content Authenticity and Meta AudioSeal / Video Seal, row by row.
Compare vendors → AB 853 and AB 2713Who is next, and when
Large online platforms and GenAI hosting platforms from 1 January 2027, capture devices from 1 January 2028.
Dates and roles →