Two groundbreaking bills from CITED’s bill package are signed into law 

San Francisco — Today, legislation addressing the threat that AI-powered disinformation poses to our elections was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. The two bills, sponsored by the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy (CITED), a project of California Common Cause, mark the most assertive steps in the nation to address the dangers that AI and disinformation pose to our elections. 

“By signing our groundbreaking legislation into law, California has met this critical moment in our democracy with the nuance and ambition needed to mitigate the dangers of unregulated AI,” said Jonathan Mehta Stein, California Common Cause’s Executive Director and CITED’s Co-Founder. “Congress has refused to take action at the federal level. California has taken the lead in protecting our elections and our democracy from the grave digital threats we now face. We are gratified to the Governor for signing our bills, and we look forward to continuing to build a healthy, equitable digital democracy for all Californians.”

The two CITED bills that were signed into law:

• AB 2839, from Assemblymember Gail Pellerin. Keeps misleading deepfakes out of campaign ads and election communications close to Election Day, protecting candidates and election officials while respecting the First Amendment. This law would have addressed the “Joe Biden” robocall encouraging New Hampshire Democrats to not vote in the state’s primary. The bill goes further in limiting political deepfakes than any other in the nation. It is an urgency measure and thus takes effect immediately. 
• AB 2655, from Assemblymember Marc Berman. Combats online disinformation in our elections by placing first-in-the-nation requirements on large online platforms to remove or label deceptive digital content related to elections during specified periods, and requires them to provide mechanisms to report such content. It also authorizes candidates, elected officials, elections officials, the Attorney General, and a district attorney or city attorney to seek injunctive relief against a large online platform for noncompliance with the bill.

“At home and around the world, we’ve already seen how AI-powered disinformation can undermine the integrity of election processes and hurt voters,” said Drew Liebert, Director of CITED. “CITED’s bills represent the most nuanced, balanced, and forward-looking attempts in the United States seeking to protect our democracy from growing digital threats. We are grateful to Governor Newsom for establishing California as the nation’s democracy leader, pushing back against the dangers of unregulated AI, and setting a model for the nation.”

California Common Cause launched the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy (CITED) in November 2023 to help California lead the fight for solutions to the threats that disinformation, AI, deepfakes, and other emerging technologies pose to our democracy and elections. The public is hungry for those solutions. In November 2023 polling from Berkeley IGS, 84% of California voters said they are concerned about digital threats to elections and 73% said they believe state government has a “responsibility” to take action. That support runs across voters of all races, ages, genders, regions, and political parties.

CITED’s proposals have been informed by research and thought leadership from titans in tech, law, public policy, civil rights, civic engagement, and academia, and influenced by successes and emerging ideas from the European Union, the White House, Congress, and states around the country. Independent of industry and with bipartisan leadership, CITED’s guidance is divorced from private agendas and partisanship.

In its first year, CITED has cemented itself as Sacramento’s go-to source of independent, unbiased policy expertise where technology issues impact democracy and voters. In addition to advising key decision-makers, and in the face of congressional inaction, CITED advanced its own legislative agenda as noted above.

California Common Cause and CITED thank Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, Assemblymember Marc Berman, and Senator Steve Padilla for their leadership and partnership in the 2024 legislative session.