Navigating SB 942: Is Your AI Detection Tool Legally Compliant?

SB 942 introduces a unique requirement for "Covered Providers" of Generative AI: you must not only label your content, but you must also provide the public with a tool to verify it.

The "Free Detection Tool" Mandate

If your system generates synthetic content (text, image, video, or audio), you are required to provide a publicly available, free-of-charge tool that allows users to determine if a piece of content was generated by your system.

Requirements for the Tool:

• Accessibility: It must be easy to find on your website.
• Functionality: It must accurately identify content created by your model.
• Feedback: It should provide a clear "Yes/No" or probability score.

Watermarking Standards

SB 942 distinguishes between two types of disclosures, both of which are generally required:

1. Manifest Disclosure

This is a disclosure that is perceptible to the human user.
Example: A text label saying "Generated by AI" on an image, or a spoken disclaimer at the start of an audio clip.

2. Latent Disclosure (Watermarking)

This is metadata embedded directly into the file or object generation data. It must be:

• Permanent: Difficult to remove without destroying the content.
• Machine-Readable: Detectable by your public tool and other standard verification systems.

The 96-Hour Rule for Licensees

If you license your model to third parties, you have strict enforcement obligations. If you discover a third-party licensee is using your model without the required watermarking/disclosures, you must revoke their license within 96 hours of discovery.

Conclusion

SB 942 forces AI companies to take ownership of their output. Building a robust, public-facing detection tool is no longer a "nice-to-have" feature—it is a legal necessity for doing business in California.