Advocating for fixes to California AI Transparency Act to protect open source (github.blog)

GitHub has allied with an open source coalition, including Black Forest Labs, Hugging Face, and Mozilla Corporation, to propose amendments to California's AI Transparency Act (SB 942). Concerns have been raised about the bill's current draft, particularly its license revocation provision, which conflicts with the fundamental nature of open source licenses that are meant to be perpetual and irrevocable. This potential requirement for developers to revoke licenses if downstream users don’t meet certain obligations could create significant uncertainty within the software supply chain, undermining collaborative and community-driven projects. The coalition argues that these revocation provisions are unnecessary for achieving the bill's transparency goals, as developers who modify and deploy AI systems are already covered by existing legal frameworks. They advocate for a more compatible approach akin to the EU's AI Act Transparency Code of Practice, which respects the unique characteristics of open source by emphasizing best practices in documentation rather than onerous revocation measures. By supporting these amendments, GitHub aims to ensure that California's legislation fosters AI accountability while also nurturing the open source ecosystem critical for ongoing AI innovation.