Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A generative-AI image tool signs its output with a Content Credential at the moment of creation, recording which model generated it; if the image is later cropped or color-corrected in editing software that also supports C2PA, a further signed entry is appended, so the full edit history travels with the file rather than being lost.
- Is an instance
A research group publishing an AI-processed microscopy or imaging figure attaches a Content Credential documenting the specific processing steps applied, giving reviewers an inspectable provenance trail independent of what the manuscript text claims was done.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A file's ordinary EXIF metadata (camera model, capture date) is not C2PA content provenance — EXIF data is unsigned, trivially stripped or falsified, and was never designed as a tamper-evident chain of custody. C2PA Content Credentials specifically add cryptographic signing and a linked, inspectable history of every recorded change, which EXIF does not provide.
Editorial commentary
C2PA content provenance refers to the signed, tamper-evident metadata record — a Content Credential — that the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity’s (C2PA) technical specification defines for digital media files. It records who or what created a piece of content, what AI models or tools touched it, and what edits were subsequently made, as a cryptographically chained history rather than a single unverifiable claim.
Who’s behind it
C2PA was founded by Adobe, Microsoft, Intel, the BBC, and Truepic, and has since grown into a large industry coalition whose member organizations include Google, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon, and Sony, among many others. The specification is maintained openly, with the current major version in the 2.x series as of 2026.
How it works
Each time a supporting tool creates or edits a piece of media, it can append a new, cryptographically signed entry to that file’s Content Credential — recording the action taken and by what tool — rather than overwriting or discarding the prior history. A viewer or downstream system can then inspect the full chain to see the media’s provenance, without needing to trust any single party’s unverified claim about where the content came from.
Relationship to AI disclosure
C2PA is the leading technical mechanism behind the broader concept of an AI transparency marker — regulatory requirements such as the EU AI Act’s Article 50(2) machine-readable marking obligation and California’s SB 942 (AI Transparency Act) don’t mandate C2PA specifically, but C2PA Content Credentials are the most widely adopted way generative-AI tools and publishers are meeting that kind of machine-detectable marking requirement in practice.
What it isn’t
C2PA provenance is broader than AI-content marking alone — it covers provenance for any digital media, including camera-captured photos and human-edited video, not only AI-generated content. It should also not be confused with ordinary file metadata (EXIF, IPTC), which carries no cryptographic signature and can be edited or stripped without detection.
Related terms
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="C2PA Content Provenance"
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"name": "C2PA Content Provenance",
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"description": "C2PA content provenance refers to the tamper-evident metadata record — called a Content Credential — attached to a piece of digital media (image, video, audio, or document) under the technical specification published by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). C2PA is a standards initiative founded by Adobe, Microsoft, Intel, the BBC, and Truepic, since joined by a large roster of member organizations including Google, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon, and Sony. Its specification (versioned; C2PA 2.x as of 2026) defines a cryptographically signed, chained record of who or what created a piece of media, what tools or AI models touched it, and what edits were subsequently made — designed so a viewer can inspect that chain without having to trust a single central authority.",
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"publisher": {
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},
"datePublished": "2026-08-22T09:45:42",
"dateModified": "2026-09-04T07:25:38",
"inLanguage": "en-GB",
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}
