Direct source

C2PA specifies a technical standard for content provenance and authenticity

The specification states C2PA developed a technical standard for providing content provenance and authenticity.

Evidence explainer

What this establishes

C2PA is an industry open standard. Mandating it in law is a separate policy ask.

Why it matters: It is the main voluntary technical baseline cited in labelling and provenance debates.

Limits and context: The specification expressly avoids value judgments about whether provenance data is good or bad.

Exact passage

C2PA Specification 2.3 · §1.1

To address this issue at scale … the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) has developed this technical specification for providing content provenance and authenticity.

Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity Original source

Policy questions

Content integrity

Should watermarking standards be mandatory?

Open provenance standards such as C2PA already exist. The dispute is whether law should require them or leave adoption voluntary.

Policy asks

adopted

Adopt open content-provenance standards such as C2PA Content Credentials

Use open technical specifications for content provenance and authenticity assertions in synthetic-media governance.

Policy vehicles

guidance · Published (voluntary)

C2PA Content Credentials technical specification

Open technical standard for attaching and validating content provenance assertions.

Policy events

2025-01-01 · publication

C2PA publishes technical specification 2.3

C2PA Specification 2.3 defines the Content Credentials provenance standard.