CA SB 1142 (Becker) Digital Dignity Act
Establishes civil and criminal liability for unauthorized use of AI-generated digital replicas and requires platforms to provide takedown mechanisms. KCA ContextNonconsensual deepfakes and AI-generated impersonation cause real harm, particularly to women, public figures from marginalized communities, and people without the resources to pursue legal action independently. This bill creates enforceable protections.
CA AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) HEAR Survivors Act
Updates the Equity in Higher Education Act to address AI-generated deepfakes, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, cyberstalking, and doxing on college campuses. KCA ContextAI-generated sexually explicit deepfakes are a growing threat with no comprehensive campus policy framework. Students from marginalized communities face compounded harm when institutions lack the tools and training to respond.
CA AB 2148 (Muratsuchi) Educator AI/EdTech Opt-Out and ADS Protection
Protects school personnel from retaliation for refusing to use edtech and from adverse employment actions based on the outputs of AI-driven employee evaluation systems. KCA ContextADS bias disproportionately affects educators of color, educators with disabilities, and educators in under-resourced schools who are more likely to work in districts adopting lower-cost edtech and employee evaluation systems […]
CA AB 1864 (Berman) Gene Synthesis Safety
Requires gene synthesis providers and benchtop equipment manufacturers in California to screen orders against federal pathogen sequence frameworks. KCA ContextBiosecurity is a consumer protection issue. Without screening requirements, dangerous genetic sequences can be ordered online with no verification, creating risks that fall disproportionately on communities with fewer resources to respond to biological threats.
CA AB 1018 (Bauer-Kahan) Automated Decisions Safety Act
Regulates developers and deployers of automated decision systems used for consequential decisions in employment, housing, education, health care, and criminal justice. Requires impact assessments, independent audits, and gives individuals rights to notice, correction, and appeal. KCA ContextAlgorithmic discrimination in high-stakes decisions is one of the clearest equity issues in technology today. Lending models are twice […]