Relating to: bathing periods for inmates of state correctional institutions and county jails or houses of correction. (FE)

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Margaret Arney and 13 co-sponsors

Requires disclosure and access to original unaltered listing photos whenever images are digitally altered, ensuring transparency in real estate advertising.

Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

AB 723 (Pellerin) — Summary: Real estate advertising — disclosure of digitally altered images

Status and timeline
- Introduced: February 14, 2025 (AB 723, Pellerin).
- Enacted: Approved by the Governor and chaptered as Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025 (October 10, 2025).
- Codified: Adds Section 10140.8 to the Business and Professions Code.

Purpose / intent
- To increase transparency in real‑estate advertising by requiring disclosure whenever listing images have been materially altered using photo‑editing software or artificial intelligence, and to make original, unaltered images accessible to prospective buyers.

Key provisions
- New disclosure requirement: A real estate broker or salesperson (or person acting on their behalf) who includes a “digitally altered image” in any advertisement or promotional material for the sale of real property must:
- Place a reasonably conspicuous statement on or adjacent to the image disclosing that it has been altered; and
- Provide a link, URL, or QR code to a publicly accessible website that includes and clearly identifies the original, unaltered image.
- Website postings: If the advertisement is posted on an internet website controlled by the broker/salesperson (or their agent), the posting must include the unaltered version(s) of the images used to create the altered image(s). Compliance may be satisfied by including a link to a publicly accessible site that hosts the unaltered images; the disclosure must indicate where the originals can be accessed.
- Definition — “digitally altered image”: An image created by or at the direction of the broker/salesperson that has been altered via photo‑editing software or AI to add, remove, or change elements (examples listed include fixtures, furniture, appliances, flooring, paint color, hardscape/landscape, façade, floor plans, and elements visible from the property such as views or neighboring properties).
- Exemption for minor edits: Images that only undergo common photo adjustments (lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure, etc.) that do not change the representation of the property are not considered “digitally altered” for purposes of this section.

Who is affected
- Primary: Licensed real estate brokers and salespersons in California, and persons acting on their behalf (e.g., agents, marketing firms).
- Secondary: Prospective buyers and the public (greater access to unaltered images); online platforms insofar as brokers control postings on those sites.
- Enforcement: Falls under the Real Estate Law regime; willful violations can constitute a crime under existing law governing real estate licensees.

Fiscal/administrative notes
- The bill creates new duties for licensees (identified as a state‑mandated local program). The statute states no state reimbursement is required under Article XIII B because any local costs arise from the creation or change of a crime/infraction.

Practical implications
- Brokers/salespersons will need processes to retain original images, publish them or links publicly, and ensure disclosures accompany altered images.
- The law aims to curb misleading visual representations while allowing ordinary corrective photo edits that do not alter the substance of a listing.