Real estate: digitally altered images: disclosure.

Assembly Member Pellerin’s proposal would require real estate brokers or salespersons, and persons acting on their behalf, to disclose when they include a digitally altered image in advertising or other promotional materials for the sale of real property, and to provide access to the original, unaltered image.

The bill defines a digitally altered image as one that has been changed through photo editing software or artificial intelligence to add, remove, or modify elements of the image, including aspects like fixtures, furniture, flooring, walls, exterior features, or views from the property. It excludes only common photo editing adjustments that do not change the property’s representation, such as lighting, color correction, sharpening, angle, cropping, or straightening. The disclosure must be conspicuous and placed on or adjacent to the altered image, and must include a link to a publicly accessible website, URL, or QR code that clearly identifies the original image. If the advertisement is posted on an internet website under the licensee’s control, the unaltered version of the image must also be included in the posting, or compliance may be achieved by linking to a site that hosts the unaltered image; in that case, the disclosure must indicate that unaltered images are accessible via the linked site or code.

Enforcement would rely on the existing criminal framework for violations of the Real Estate Law, with the Real Estate Commissioner overseeing the adherence of licensees to the new requirement. The bill does not specify penalties within the text itself, and it states that no additional state reimbursement is required for local agencies, consistent with ordinary costs arising from enforcing a crime. The act adds a new provision to the state’s real estate regulations and interacts with ongoing Real Estate Law governance of licensees, marketing practices, and advertising disclosures. The measure does not initially specify an explicit effective date within the provided text.