California AB 1836 — Digital Replicas of Deceased Personalities (UNDER MPA CHALLENGE)
CA · Cal. Civ. Code §3344.1 (as amended by AB 1836); MPA v. Bonta (E.D. Cal., pending)
California AB 1836 extended postmortem right of publicity to AI digital replicas of deceased personalities. A First Amendment challenge filed by the Motion Picture Association is pending in federal court.
Technical detail
AB 1836 (Bauer-Kahan, 2024) — extends Cal. Civ. Code §3344.1 postmortem right of publicity to AI-generated digital replicas of deceased personalities; mandates consent from estate for commercial use. MPA-led First Amendment challenge filed Sept. 15, 2025; preliminary injunction motion pending in E.D. Cal.
Who is protected: Estates of deceased personalities; consumer protection from undisclosed deepfakes
Who must comply: Creators and distributors of AI digital replicas (subject to pending litigation)
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | CA |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Status | Blocked / in litigation |
| Protection strength | Moderate protection |
| Effective date | 2025-01-01 |
| Enacted | 2024-09-17 |
| Citation | Cal. Civ. Code §3344.1 (as amended by AB 1836); MPA v. Bonta (E.D. Cal., pending) |
| Enforced by | Private enforcement + California Attorney General |
| Private right of action | Yes — individuals can sue |
| Penalties | Statutory damages or actual damages, whichever greater |
| Topics | deepfakes · AI-generated images · AI disclosure and transparency |
| Last verified | 2026-06-16 |
| Official source | AB 1836 — California Legislative Information ↗ |
More AI rules in CA
- CA EO N-12-23 (GenAI) · In effect
- CA SB 1047 (vetoed) · Vetoed
- CA AB 2930 (died) · Expired
- CA AB 2839 (enjoined) · Blocked / in litigation
- CA AB 2655 (enjoined) · Blocked / in litigation
- CA AB 3211 (died) · Expired
Related deepfakes rules elsewhere
- TAKE IT DOWN Act · In effect
- TCPA (AI voice calls) · In effect
- DEFIANCE Act (deepfake-porn civil suits) · Proposed / pending
- SB 942 (AI Transparency Act) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- AB 2839 (Election Deepfakes) · Blocked / in litigation
- AB 602 (Deepfake Intimate Images) · In effect
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