CA AI Transparency Act: Midjourney Lacks Watermark, Fines Start

California's AI Transparency Act is now in effect, requiring AI systems with over one million monthly users in California to embed machine-readable data, offer a public detection tool, and allow visible AI labels. Failure to comply can result in civil penalties starting at $5,000 per violation, per day. What's interesting is that Midjourney, a widely used AI image generator, currently has no C2PA content credentials or known pixel watermark. This puts it squarely in the scope of this new law. The law requires a free public detection tool, accessible without an account, to check if content was AI-generated or altered. It also mandates that providers give users the option to add manifest disclosures to their AI-generated content. The bottom line is that California is now the first US state to enforce a comprehensive AI content provenance mandate, and this could significantly impact how AI-generated content is created and shared.