All AI rules
Watermarks
Can everyone tell this is AI?
Sometimes, and not always in ways you can see:
- Many tools attach Content Credentials, a signed record of how a file was made.
- Some platforms read that record and label the post for you, without asking.
- California’s AI Transparency Act has been in force since August 2, 2026. It makes large AI providers embed provenance data in what they generate and run a free public detection tool.
- It binds the providers, not you. "Covered provider" means a generative AI system with over 1,000,000 monthly users that is publicly accessible in California.
- More is coming: AB 853 extends the same idea to large online platforms and AI hosting platforms on January 1, 2027, and to capture devices like cameras on January 1, 2028.
What this means for marketers
Nothing requires you to announce a watermark, and the California law lands on the tool vendors rather than on you. Worth considering: assume what you generate carries an invisible mark, and decide your disclosure before a platform decides it for you. From January 2027 the platforms you post to pick up duties of their own, which is when the labels start arriving whether or not you asked.
Primary source California SB 942, AI Transparency Act (full text) (Signed 2024, Stats. 2024 Ch. 291)
- California AB 853, amending the AI Transparency Act (Delayed the Act to August 2, 2026)
- Content Credentials (C2PA) (Living standard page)
- C2PA technical specification (Specification 2.1)
Links checked September 25, 2026
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How we check this. *Beep Boop Bop 🤖 Never ever, ever legal advice.