California makes replacing actors with AI illegal

Hollywood studios looking to quietly swap human performers for synthetic doubles just hit a legal wall in California.

On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom visited the SAG-AFTRA headquarters in Los Angeles to sign two landmark bills into law. Basically, replacing an actor's voice or likeness with an AI digital replica without clear permission is now officially illegal in the state, whether that performer is alive or dead.

Closing the AI loophole on sets and contracts

The two bills take aim at different parts of the entertainment pipeline.

The first, AB 2602, is the first law of its kind in the United States. It bans contract provisions that allow a studio to use a digital replica in place of an individual's actual services, unless that person gave consent with a clear, specific description of how the AI would actually be used. In other words, studios can no longer bury broad digital likeness rights in standard contracts.

The second bill, AB 1836, protects the dead. It bars anyone from using a deceased person's voice or likeness in digital replicas without prior consent from their estate. Crucially, the bill strips away existing exceptions that film, television, and other audiovisual productions previously relied on to bring past performers back to the screen without family sign-off.

From union strike to state law

These protections build directly on the hard-fought gains from last year's SAG-AFTRA strike. While the union secured informed consent and compensation rules in its master contracts, those terms only covered talent working under those specific collective bargaining agreements.

By signing both bills into California law, Newsom effectively extended those protections to anyone living or dead in the state. SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher called it a momentous day, quoting the old adage that as California goes, so goes the nation. Union national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland added that no one should live in fear of becoming an unpaid digital puppet.

The timing is notable. SAG-AFTRA is currently on strike against major video game studios, with AI protections serving as the primary sticking point. Meanwhile, unions are pushing the No Fakes Act, a federal equivalent introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives just last week.

Why it matters

We think California just delivered the entertainment industry's most consequential regulatory check on generative AI so far.

For working actors, voice performers, and stunt doubles, this is immediate leverage. You can no longer be coerced into signing away your digital self as a prerequisite to getting hired, nor can a studio legally train an avatar on your scans to replace your future work without explicit, itemized permission.

For studios, production companies, and AI tooling startups, the honeymoon period of gray-area digital cloning is over. Any workflow involving post-mortem digital resurrects or synthetic extras based on real talent now requires direct, verifiable estate consent and bespoke contracts, significantly raising the legal risk of shortcutting human production.

Because California is the beating heart of global entertainment, these bills will likely dictate standard commercial contracts far beyond state borders. With the video game strike ongoing and federal lawmakers watching closely, this looks like the baseline every studio will eventually have to adopt.