In brief: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1705, which starting Jan. 1, 2027 requires adult sites that accept uploads to collect a verified email and a sworn statement that everyone depicted was an adult and consented, AVN and XBIZ reported Oct. 5. He also signed SB 690, which limits private CIPA tracking lawsuits.
Contains adult themes: this story covers the adult-content industry.
Starting in January, uploading a clip to an adult site in California will require a sworn statement, signed under penalty of perjury.
Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1705 in a batch of bills his office announced Sept. 30, AVN reported. It was written by Democratic Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan of Orinda and Republican Assemblymember Diane Dixon of Newport Beach, and takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
What uploaders and sites will have to do
Sites that let users or creators upload must collect an email address and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that each person depicted was not a minor when the content was made, consented to appearing in it and consented to the upload, XBIZ reported. Sites must verify the email before allowing an upload and keep the statement and information for at least seven years.
The penalties are steep. People depicted can sue sites and uploaders for up to $75,000 per violation, plus punitive damages and legal fees, and public prosecutors can seek $25,000 per violation. Each day noncompliant content stays up counts as a separate violation, so slow fixes get expensive.
California Enacts Stricter UGC Rules for Adult Sites xbiz.com
The industry reacts
Mike Stabile, director of public policy at the Free Speech Coalition, told AVN: “Yet again, our platforms and businesses are being held to a different standard than non-adult businesses.” AVN noted that he called the requirements something reputable platforms already mandate, and he said: “We’ll be working with our members over the coming months to inform them about the law and what is needed to comply.”
The statute’s extraterritorial reach, perjury certification requirement, and accumulating daily penalties raise serious First Amendment and due process concerns that are likely to be tested in court.
That’s attorney Lawrence Walters. Attorney Corey Silverstein said his concern is the law’s reasonable-care standard, warning that “uncertainty about what constitutes sufficient diligence can encourage platforms to remove lawful content defensively.”
Meanwhile, some relief on tracking lawsuits
Newsom also signed SB 690, by state Sen. Anna Caballero. It takes claims under the California Invasion of Privacy Act’s pen-register and trap-and-trace provision away from private plaintiffs and reserves them for the state attorney general, and it applies partly to some pending claims filed since Jan. 1, 2025, XBIZ reported. Adult companies including Pornhub parent Aylo and Bellesa have been sued under CIPA over common marketing and analytics software, AVN reported. In his signing message, Newsom wrote:
This measure addresses the vexatious use of CIPA lawsuits and demand letters to extract settlement money from small businesses that unwittingly install software on their websites that at times have tracked and shared the information of visitors to the site.
Walters’ verdict: “SB 690 ends the private lawsuit mill built on CIPA’s pen-register provision.” Silverstein cautioned that the law does “not eliminate other CIPA claims or give operators blanket permission to track visitors.”
Federal 2257 rules already require producers to keep age and identity records; AVN says AB 1705 goes “far beyond” them. Supporters have promoted the upload rules as the RECLAIM Act, Wet Ink reported. Platforms are tightening their own rules too: OnlyFans’ new terms take effect Nov. 1.
So from January, California uploads will need a verified email and a sworn statement, and lawsuits over analytics tools will mostly be up to the attorney general.