California SB 1001 — Bolstering Online Transparency (B.O.T.) Act (Original 2018 Enactment)
CA · Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17940-17943 (SB 1001, 2018)
Signed by Governor Brown on September 28, 2018, California SB 1001 was the first U.S. state law requiring bots to disclose they are not human when used to incentivize a sale or influence a vote. Still in effect 2026 at Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §17940-17943. The first state bot-disclosure law and direct precursor to NJ Bot Disclosure Act (2019), federal Bot Disclosure Act of 2018 (S. 3127, died), and modern chatbot disclosure laws (UT SB 226, NE LB 525, etc.).
Technical detail
SB 1001 (2018 Reg. Sess., Hertzberg), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17940-17943 — makes it unlawful to use a bot to communicate online with another person in California with intent to mislead about its artificial identity for the purpose of (1) incentivizing a sale or commercial transaction or (2) influencing a vote in an election. Disclosure must be clear, conspicuous, and reasonably designed to inform that the communication is from a bot. Applies to platforms with 10M+ U.S. monthly visitors. Effective July 1, 2019.
Who is protected: Californians interacting online with bots
Who must comply: Operators of bots used commercially or for election influence
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | CA |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Status | In effect |
| Protection strength | Limited protection |
| Effective date | 2019-07-01 |
| Enacted | 2018-09-28 |
| Citation | Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17940-17943 (SB 1001, 2018) |
| Enforced by | California Attorney General |
| Private right of action | No — agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Unfair competition / UCL remedies (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200) |
| Topics | AI disclosure and transparency · consumer protection · election deepfakes |
| Last verified | 2026-06-17 |
| Official source | SB 1001 — 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 AI disclosure and transparency rules elsewhere
- FTC Act Section 5 (unfair/deceptive AI) · In effect
- FCRA (AI in credit & background checks) · In effect
- ECOA / Regulation B (AI credit discrimination) · In effect
- Title VII / ADA (AI hiring) · In effect
- COPPA + 2025 Rule (childrens data) · In effect
- Copyright Office AI Guidance · In effect
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