California is riding a wave of Big Tech legislation, with state leaders signing several tech bills in quick succession.
The first, called the Frontier Artificial Intelligence Transparency Act, has been talked about as a historic state-level law to ensure more robust safety standards for generative AI. The Safety and Transparency Act would require AI institutes to disclose the potential harms posed by emerging technologies and to disclose safety protocols as evidence that companies are designing AI systems to reduce catastrophic risks. This requirement is enforced by the state’s Office of Emergency Services. This applies to companies that reach a certain threshold of computing power set aside solely for model training, or companies with annual revenue of at least $500 million.
The bill aims to hold AI developers accountable for adhering to safety standards even when faced with competitive pressures, and also includes protections for potential whistleblowers. California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the bill proves that tighter safety regulations don’t necessarily stifle AI innovation, as many big tech leaders claim.
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Many observers are calling the bill a new national standard.
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A few days later, Newsom signed SB 576, a bill that prohibits commercial volume levels from exceeding viewer volume settings. Importantly, this also applies to streaming advertising, which is far less regulated. It expands on the Commercial Advertising Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM), passed by Congress in 2010, which sets average volume limits for broadcast television commercials and cable operators.
Most recently, the state greenlit AB 656, a law that would require social media companies to make it easier to cancel accounts and immediately delete all personal account data. Last year, the FTC announced new Click to Cancel rules, requiring subscription providers to make it easier for customers to cancel recurring payments and delete their accounts.
Mr. Newsom has made himself President Donald Trump’s archenemy while leading California to pass some of the nation’s most cutting-edge technology regulations, child safety laws, and consumer protection laws. But Newsom has also aligned himself with many of Big Tech’s interests, including vetoing a controversial 2024 omnibus bill that would have held artificial intelligence companies accountable for harm caused by their technology.
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