Why California’s SB 53 possibly provides a meaningful control of large AI businesses

California’s state senate recently gave a final approval to a new AI Security Bill, SB 53, and sent it to Governor Gavin Newsom to either sign or veto.

If all this sounds familiar, it is because Newsom veto against another AI security bill, also written by State Senator Scott Wiener, last year. But SB 53 is narrower than Vienna’s former SB 1047 focusing on large AI companies earning more than $ 500 million in annual revenue.

I got the chance to discuss the SB 53 with my colleagues Max Zeff and Kirsten Korosec on the latest episode of Techcrunch’s flagship podcast recovery. Max believes that Vienna’s new bill has a better shot at being allowed, partly because of the big corporate focus, and because it is approved by AI Company Anthropic.

Read a preview of our conversation about AI security and state-level legislation below. (I have edited the transcription for length and clarity and to make us sound a little smarter.)

Max: Why should you be interested in AI security legislation that passes a chamber in California? We enter this era where AI companies become the most powerful businesses in the world, and this will be potentially one of the few controls of their power.

This is much narrower than the SB 1047 that got a lot of pushback last year. But I think SB 53 still puts some meaningful rules on the AI ​​laboratories. It causes them to publish security reports for their models. If they have an incident, it basically forces them to report it to the government. And that, for employees at these laboratories, if they have concerns, give them a channel to report it to the government and do not face pushback from the companies, though many of them have signed NDAs.

To me, this feels like a potentially meaningful control of tech companies’ power, something we haven’t really had in the last few decades.

Kirsten: For your point about why it matters at state level, it’s important to think about the fact that it’s California. Each major AI company is largely, if not based here, it has a large footprint in this state. Not that other states don’t matter – I don’t want to get e emails from the people of Colorado or whatever – but it means that it is specifically California because it really is a hub for AI activity.

My question to you, Max, it’s just like there are a lot of exceptions and cuts. It’s narrower but is it more complicated than the previous one [bill]?

Max: In some ways, yes. I would say that the most important cut of this bill is that it really tries to not apply to small startups. And basically one of the biggest controversy about the last legislative efforts of Senator Scott Weiner, representing San Francisco, who authors this bill, many people said it could hurt the start -up ecosystem that many people take out because it is such a thriving part of California’s economy right now.

This bill applies specifically to AI developers who are [generating] More than $ 500 million [from] Their AI models. This is really trying to target Openai, Google Deepmind, these big companies and not your run-of-the-Mill startup.

Anthony: As I understand it, if you are a minor startup, share some security information but not almost as much.

It is [also] Worth talking about the wider landscape around AI regulation and the fact that one of the major changes between last year and this year is now, we have a new president. The federal administration has taken much more of an attitude towards no regulation and companies should be able to do what they want to, to the extent that they have actually included [language] In financing bills that say states cannot have their own AI regulation.

I don’t think any of it has gone so far, but potentially they could try to get it through in the future. So this can be another front where the Trump administration and blue states are fighting.

Equity is Techcrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.

Subscribe to us on Apple PodcastsAt OvercastAt Spotifyand all casts. You can also follow equity X and ThreadsOn @Equitypod.