SB 53 (Frontier AI Safety)
Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (SB 53)
California · SB 53 (Stats. 2025)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- January 1, 2026
- Applies to
- Frontier AI developers meeting compute thresholds; enhanced obligations for large frontier developers ($500M+ annual revenue)
- Enforced by
- California Attorney General; incident reporting to California Office of Emergency Services
The first US frontier-AI safety law in effect: the largest AI model developers must publish safety frameworks and transparency reports, report critical safety incidents to the state, and protect whistleblowers who raise catastrophic-risk concerns.
Who is protected: The public; employees and contractors of frontier AI developers (whistleblower protections)
Legal detail
TFAIA requires 'frontier developers' (training runs above 10^26 FLOPs; large developers with $500M+ revenue face fuller duties) to publish safety frameworks, report critical safety incidents to Cal OES within 15 days (24 hours for imminent threats), and maintain whistleblower channels.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | California |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Strength | Limited |
| Enacted | September 29, 2025 |
| Citation | SB 53 (Stats. 2025) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Civil penalties up to $1,000,000 per violation |
| Topics | AI disclosure and transparency · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| Bill text | California Legislative Information: SB 53 (2025–2026) |
More AI rules in California
- CA EO N-6-26 (AI Workforce) · In effect
- California AB 489 (AI healthcare chatbot misrepresentation ban) · In effect
- X.AI v. Bonta (AB 2013 training-data disclosure) · Blocked / in litigation
- CA SB 1168 — data center grid cost allocation · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- California SB 1119 Adam's Law, companion chatbots (2026) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- California SB 867 AI chatbot toy moratorium (2026) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
Related AI disclosure and transparency rules elsewhere
- Trump AI Innovation & Security EO (June 2026) · In effect
- FERC order directing PJM and other grid operators to reform tariffs on… · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- Morris County resolution urging state oversight of data center power… · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- SU-47 Special-Use Data Center Zoning District Ordinance · Proposed / pending
- Cherokee Nation EO 2026-02-CTH (Data Center Task Force) · In effect
- NAIC AI Evaluation Tool Pilot (12 states, 2026) · Proposed / pending
See something wrong or out of date? Submit a correction. Every entry must carry a verifiable source.