California Expands Liability for Undisclosed Paid Political Influencers
Paid influencers that fail to comply with California’s political advertising disclosure requirements will no longer be exempt from administrative, civil, and criminal penalties beginning January 1, 2027, after Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1130 into law on September 19, 2026. Existing California law requires individuals who are paid by a campaign committee to post online content supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot measure to include a disclaimer stating that they were paid by the committee in connection with the post. Existing law also requires committees to notify paid posters of this disclaimer requirement. Prior to AB 1130, violations of the disclaimer requirement were exempt from administrative, civil, and criminal penalties, and the Fair Political Practices Commission could seek injunctive relief to compel compliance.
AB 1130 retains the existing disclaimer requirement but removes the existing exemption from penalties for violations of that requirement. The bill provides that a paid poster who fails to include the required disclaimer and the committee that paid for the post are jointly and severally liable for any administrative or civil penalties incurred as a result of the violation. The legislation also requires committees to notify paid content creators that failure to include the disclaimer may result in penalties under the Political Reform Act and requires committees to identify qualifying payments for paid influencer content on campaign reports as paid third-party posts.
By imposing joint and several liability on both the paid poster and the sponsoring committee, the legislation creates a stronger incentive for campaigns to monitor compliance with disclosure requirements while preserving the FPPC's authority to seek injunctive relief to compel compliance.
