AI Frontier Institute

Informing users when content is developed or modified by artificial intelligence.

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Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1170 (Chapter 167, Laws of 2026) became law on March 24, 2026 and takes effect February 1, 2027 (Sec. 9). Under Sec. 2, a "covered provider" must, to the extent commercially and technically reasonable, include provenance data in video, image, or audio content created or materially altered by its generative AI system. A covered provider is a producer of a generative AI system with over 1,000,000 monthly users that is publicly accessible in Washington to consumers for personal use; state, local, and tribal governments are excluded (Sec. 1(2)). The provenance data must let a user assess whether the provider's system created or materially altered the content, and providers must use reasonable methods to make it difficult to remove or tamper with. Using a commonly supported standard such as the C2PA specification counts as compliant (Sec. 2(2)). Providers need not include information about an identifiable individual (Sec. 2(3)). "Materially altered" excludes minor edits such as brightness, cropping, resizing, and format conversion (Sec. 2(4)). Sec. 3 says the chapter does not require disclosure of trade secrets or confidential information, and it does not apply to business-to-business uses. Sec. 5 exempts exclusively video game or interactive experiences and systems used solely for upscaling, noise reduction, or compression. Under Sec. 4, waivers are void. Only the attorney general may enforce the chapter, and a violation is treated as an unfair or deceptive act under the Consumer Protection Act (chapter 19.86 RCW). Separately, Sec. 6 requires a government agency that makes available an AI system intended to interact with consumers to disclose clearly, in plain language, and without dark patterns, before or at the time of interaction, that the consumer is interacting with AI. The disclosure may be given by hyperlink and is required even if the AI nature would be obvious. Secs. 7 and 8 codify Secs. 1–5 and 9 in a new chapter of Title 19 RCW and Sec. 6 in a new chapter of Title 42 RCW.

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