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ARTICLE · 03 OCTOBER 2025

California Enacts SB-53, Creating New Requirements For Developers Of Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models And Related Whistleblower Provisions

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On September 29, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senator Scott Wiener's SB-53, which establishes new requirements for developers of frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models.

United StatesTechnology
Rajesh De
Rajesh De
Arsen Kourinian
Arsen Kourinian
Stephen Lilley
Stephen Lilley
Aaron Futerman
Aaron Futerman
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On September 29, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senator Scott Wiener's SB-53, which establishes new requirements for developers of frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models. Section 2 of the law enacts the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA), which requires certain developers of frontier models to: (1) publish a frontier AI framework on their website; (2) post a report on their website before making available a new frontier model to third parties; (3) transmit to the California Office of Emergency Services catastrophic risk assessments; and (4) report critical safety incidents to the California Office of Emergency Services. In addition, Section 4 of the law creates whistleblower protections for certain employees of frontier developers.1 We summarize key provisions of the law in this Legal Update.

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