GitHub has joined an open-source coalition calling for targeted amendments to California’s AI Transparency Act, warning that the bill’s current language would conflict with the fundamental principles of open-source licensing.
The coalition, which includes Hugging Face, Black Forest Labs, and the Mozilla Corporation, sent a joint letter to California Senator Josh Becker arguing that the proposed legislation (SB 942, as amended in SB 1000) contains a license revocation provision incompatible with standard open-source practices.
“Open source licenses are designed to be perpetual and irrevocable, which is what allows developers to reliably build on, reuse, and share code across projects and organizations,” the coalition wrote. The proposed language would require developers to revoke licenses if downstream users fail to meet certain obligations — an approach that conflicts with widely used open-source licenses.
The coalition argues the revocation requirement is unnecessary because developers who modify and deploy AI systems are already directly covered by the bill’s other provisions, and existing enforcement mechanisms remain intact.
As an alternative, the group recommends aligning California’s approach with the EU AI Act Transparency Code of Practice, which recognises the distinct nature of the open-source ecosystem and requires only that downstream users be notified of best practices through documentation.
GitHub said it supports amendments that preserve the bill’s transparency objectives while maintaining compatibility with open-source development. The company emphasised that clear, technically grounded feedback from the developer community is critical as the bill moves through the legislative process.
California’s SB 942 is one of several state-level efforts to regulate AI transparency, requiring developers to disclose when content is generated or modified by AI systems. The coalition’s concern centres on provisions added through SB 1000 that would create new obligations for developers across the software supply chain.
Sources: GitHub joins coalition advocating for fixes to California AI Transparency Act (GitHub Blog, June 23, 2026)