Regulon.AI — WA-HB-1170 · WA HB 1170 (AI Content Provenance & Government AI Disclosure)

2025-01-06 introduced Prefiled for introduction.

2025-01-13 introduced First reading, referred to Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans.

2025-01-28 committee passage TEDV - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass.

2025-01-31 committee referral Referred to Rules 2 Review.

2026-01-12 introduced By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

2026-01-12 committee referral Referred to Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans.

2026-01-16 committee passage TEDV - Majority; 2nd substitute bill be substituted, do pass.

2026-01-20 committee referral Referred to Appropriations.

2026-02-02 committee passage APP - Majority; do pass 2nd substitute bill proposed by Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans.

2026-02-04 committee referral Referred to Rules 2 Review.

2026-02-13 amendment Floor amendment

2026-02-13 chamber passage Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading.

2026-02-13 chamber passage Third reading, passed; yeas, 56; nays, 37; absent, 0; excused, 5.

2026-02-17 introduced First reading, referred to Environment, Energy & Technology.

2026-02-24 committee passage ENET - Majority; do pass with amendment

2026-02-25 committee referral Referred to Ways & Means.

2026-03-02 committee passage WM - Majority; do pass with amendment

2026-03-04 chamber passage Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading.

2026-03-04 chamber passage Third reading, passed; yeas, 46; nays, 3; absent, 0; excused, 0.

2026-03-11 chamber passage House concurred in Senate amendments.

2026-03-24 effective Effective date 2/1/2027.

Summary

Requires covered providers — entities that create generative AI systems with over 1,000,000 monthly users accessible in Washington for personal consumer use — to embed provenance data in AI-generated or materially altered video, image, or audio content, to the extent commercially and technically reasonable. Provenance data must be difficult to remove or tamper with; use of a commonly supported standard such as C2PA is deemed compliant. Separately, requires all Washington government agencies that deploy AI systems intended to interact with consumers to unconditionally disclose AI involvement before or at the time of interaction. Enforcement of the provenance chapter is exclusively through the attorney general under the Consumer Protection Act. The bill excludes video games, interactive commerce experiences, systems used solely for upscaling/noise reduction/compression, and business-to-business uses. Takes effect February 1, 2027.

Enforcement & Penalties

Enforcement Authority

Attorney general enforcement only. The attorney general may bring an action in the name of the state, or as parens patriae on behalf of persons residing in the state, to enforce the chapter. A violation is deemed an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of competition for purposes of the Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86). Only the attorney general may bring an action under the Consumer Protection Act pursuant to the enforcement section. No private right of action is created. The government agency disclosure obligation in Section 6 (Title 42 RCW) has no express enforcement mechanism specified in the bill.

Penalties

Enforcement is through the Washington Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86), which provides for injunctive relief, civil penalties up to $100,000 per violation under RCW 19.86.140, and costs of investigation and attorney fees recoverable by the attorney general. The statute itself does not specify independent penalty amounts — remedies are those available under the CPA. The government agency disclosure provision (Section 6) does not specify any penalty or remedy.

Who Is Covered

"Covered provider" means a person or entity that creates, codes, or otherwise produces a generative artificial intelligence system that has over 1,000,000 monthly users and is publicly accessible within the geographic boundaries of the state to consumers for personal use. "Covered provider" does not include state, local, and tribal governments.

Compliance Obligations 2 obligations · click obligation ID to open requirement page

T-02 AI Content Labeling & Provenance · T-02.2 T-02.3 · Developer · Content Generation

Sec. 2(1)-(4)

Plain Language

Covered providers must embed provenance data in any video, image, or audio content (or combination thereof) that is created or materially altered by their generative AI system, to the extent commercially and technically reasonable. The provenance data must enable users to assess whether content was AI-generated or materially altered. Providers must also use commercially and technically reasonable methods to make the provenance data tamper-resistant. Using a commonly supported standard such as C2PA is deemed compliant with the tamper-resistance requirement. Provenance data may not include personally identifiable information. 'Materially altered' excludes minor adjustments like brightness changes, cropping, resizing, denoising, and similar cosmetic edits. The chapter does not apply to video games, interactive e-commerce experiences, systems used solely for upscaling/noise reduction/compression, or business-to-business uses.

Statutory Text

(1) To the extent commercially and technically reasonable, a covered provider shall include provenance data in any video, image, or audio content, or content that is any combination thereof, created or materially altered by the covered provider's generative artificial intelligence system and that is subject to the terms of this chapter. The provenance data must allow a user to assess whether image, video, or audio content, or content that is any combination thereof, was created or materially altered by the covered provider's generative artificial intelligence system. (2) A covered provider must use commercially and technically reasonable methods to make the provenance data difficult to remove or tamper with. The use of a commonly supported technical standard for watermarking or metadata, such as the coalition for content provenance and authenticity specification, for provenance data is considered compliant with this subsection. (3) A covered provider may not be required under this section to include any information relating to an identified or reasonably identifiable individual in provenance data included in content created or content materially altered by the covered provider's generative artificial intelligence system. (4) For the purposes of this section, "materially altered" means a significant change that substantially alters the data in content. "Materially altered" does not include minor modifications that do not lead to significant changes to the perceived content or meaning of the content. Minor modifications include: Changes to brightness, contrast, or color; sharpening; saturating; applying filters; resizing; scaling; cropping; format conversions; resampling; denoising; and removal of background noise in audio.

T-01 AI Identity Disclosure · T-01.1 · Government · Government System

Sec. 6(1)-(4)

Plain Language

Any Washington government agency that deploys an AI system intended to interact with consumers must unconditionally disclose to each consumer — before or at the time of interaction — that they are interacting with an AI system. The disclosure must be clear, conspicuously posted, in plain language, and may not employ dark patterns. It may be delivered via hyperlink to a separate web page. This is an unconditional requirement: the agency must disclose even if it would be obvious to a reasonable consumer that they are interacting with AI. The provision applies broadly to any AI system intended for consumer interaction, not just generative AI. No enforcement mechanism or penalty is specified for this provision.

Statutory Text

(1) A government agency that makes available an artificial intelligence system intended to interact with consumers must disclose to each consumer, before or at the time of interaction, that the consumer is interacting with an artificial intelligence system. The disclosure must be: (a) Clear and conspicuously posted; (b) Written in plain language; and (c) May not use a dark pattern. (2) The disclosure may be provided by using a hyperlink to direct a consumer to a separate web page. (3) An agency is required to make the disclosure under subsection (1) of this section regardless of whether it would be obvious to a reasonable consumer that the consumer is interacting with an artificial intelligence system. (4) For the purposes of this section, "artificial intelligence system" has the same meaning as in section 1 of this act.