Real estate: digitally altered images: disclosure.

Assembly Member Pellerin's real estate advertising transparency measure would require brokers and agents to disclose when property listings contain digitally manipulated images and provide unaltered versions alongside edited photos in online advertisements.

The bill defines digitally altered images as those modified through photo editing software or artificial intelligence to add, remove, or change elements like furniture, appliances, and walls. Simple lighting adjustments would not trigger the disclosure requirement. For online listings, real estate professionals would need to include both the edited marketing photos and their original, unmodified versions. Print advertisements containing altered images would require a disclosure statement noting the modifications.

The measure adds these requirements to existing real estate advertising regulations overseen by the Department of Real Estate. Violations would constitute a crime under the Real Estate Law, with enforcement handled through the department's existing oversight framework. While the bill creates new obligations for licensees, it specifies that local agencies will not receive state reimbursement for any associated costs.