Bolstering Online Transparency (bot disclosure) law (SB 1001)
SB 1001 Bot Disclosure
Artificial intelligence · Marketing
Makes it unlawful to use an automated online account (a bot) to mislead people in California about its artificial identity to sell goods or services or influence a vote, unless the bot clearly discloses that it is a bot.
- Where
- California
- Citation
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17940-17943
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 2019-07-01
- Enforced by
- California Attorney General and local prosecutors (Unfair Competition Law)
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- No penalty in the chapter; enforced as unfair competition (civil penalties up to $2,500 per violation under Bus. & Prof. Code 17206).
- Applies to
- Any person using a bot to communicate or interact online with people in California to incentivize a commercial transaction or influence an election vote
- The chapter imposes no duty on service providers of online platforms (sites with 10 million or more monthly U.S. users), such as web hosts and ISPs (17940, 17942(c))
What a privacy notice must say
- Clearly and conspicuously disclose that a bot is a bot when using it to incentivize a purchase or sale or to influence an election vote.Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17941(a)-(b)
Sources
- Official text
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17941 (California Legislative Information)
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17940
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17942
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: UCL penalty route not re-fetched.
Research reference, not legal advice.