New California law will penalize influencers who don’t disclose political ads

California has enacted AB 1130, a bill that gives state regulators new enforcement powers over online influencers who are paid to post about political campaigns. The measure allows fines of up to $5,000 for each failure to disclose paid political content and authorizes referrals to law enforcement for potential misdemeanor charges.

Before AB 1130, state law required influencers to disclose paid posts related to state or local races but lacked penalties or criminal enforcement when disclosures were omitted. That enforcement gap motivated lawmakers to craft the new statute after examples emerged of campaign-paid influencer posts being published without clear disclosure.

The New York Times noted that the fundraising and political activities of billionaire Tom Steyer, who ran for California governor earlier in the year, included payments to numerous influencers to promote his campaign; many of those posts did not initially disclose the paid relationship. Sponsor Assemblyman Marc Berman said he introduced the bill to clarify ambiguities in the prior law and how it was enforced.

Newsom signed AB 1130 as part of a wider legislative package his office described as measures to guard against potential election interference. The move mirrors regulatory approaches in other states: Texas already requires disclosure for paid political influencer content, and several other states are reportedly considering similar regulations.