California Protects Against Unauthorized Digital Replicas

With artificial intelligence’s increasing ability to blur the lines between what appears real or fake in video and audio, California passed AB 2602.  Effective January 1, 2025, individuals are protected from the unauthorized creation and use of a digital replica to perform work that would otherwise have been performed in person.  A “digital replica” is defined as a “computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as the voice or visual likeness of an individual that is embodied in a sound recording, image, audiovisual work, or transmission in which the actual individual either did not actually perform or appear, or the actual individual did perform or appear, but the fundamental character of the performance or appearance has been materially altered.”  Although the law does not specifically refer to actors and performers, they are clearly the beneficiaries of the new protection.