GitHub has joined Black Forest Labs, Hugging Face, and Mozilla in a formal coalition letter opposing specific provisions in California's AI Transparency Act, SB 942 as proposed to be amended in SB 1000. The target is narrow: license revocation clauses that require developers to revoke open source licenses when downstream users fail to meet the bill's obligations. Open source licenses are built to be perpetual and irrevocable. That is not a quirk, it is the mechanism that makes the entire software supply chain function.
The coalition's letter argues the revocation requirement is unnecessary, not just inconvenient. Developers who modify and deploy AI systems are already directly covered by the law, so enforcement exists without touching license structure. The letter points to a concrete alternative: the EU AI Act's Transparency Code of Practice, which treats the open source ecosystem as a distinct category and deems downstream documentation notices sufficient for compliance. That is a working model, already in force, that California could adopt.
The full letter is worth reading because the technical argument is precise, not a general plea to leave open source alone. The coalition draws a specific line between accountability for deployers and structural damage to licensing infrastructure. If you are a developer or organization affected by SB 1000, the coalition is directing feedback to Senator Becker's office at sd13.senate.ca.gov/contact.
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