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Federal Judge Blocks California's New Anti-Deepfakes Law – Musk Says It's 'First Points' for Free Speech

Topline

A federal judge has suspended a new California state law barring the use of AI-generated deepfakes against political candidates in the run-up to an election, weeks after Elon Musk created an AI-altered campaign video in which he mocked Kamala Harris. sued to block the legislation.

Important facts

U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez acknowledged that “the risks posed by artificial intelligence and deepfakes are significant,” but issued a preliminary injunction against the law on the grounds that it likely violates the First Amendment.

In his ruling, the judge wrote that the fear of deepfakes may be justified, but “that fear does not give lawmakers unfettered permission to destroy the long-standing tradition of criticism, parody and satire protected by the First Amendment.”

Mendez said the law “functions like a hammer instead of a scalpel, it is a blunt tool that hinders humorous expression and unconstitutionally suppresses the free, unrestricted exchange of ideas.”

The judge added that the plaintiffs convincingly argue that “counter-speech” is a less restrictive alternative to banning deepfakes, “no matter how offensive or inappropriate someone may find them.”

Christopher Kohls, the X user who filed the lawsuit, responded to the ruling with a tweet: “WIN! Lawsuit against Newsom won.”

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Important background

Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three laws targeting election-related deepfake images and videos. The law Mendez temporarily blocked Wednesday was House Bill 2839, which made it illegal to distribute “materially misleading audio or visual media of a candidate” 120 days before an election and, in some cases, 60 days afterward. The law also allowed select candidates to seek a court order to remove deepfake advertisements and also sue the person who spread them – although parody and satirical deepfakes disclosed as such were exempt. The other two bills, AB 2655 and AB 2355, focus on how online platforms and campaign groups handle such content. However, unlike AB 2839, they will take effect next year.

Crucial quote

The judge said: “While California has a legitimate interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the election process, AB 2839 is unconstitutional because it lacks the narrow tailoring and least restrictive alternative that a content-based law requires under strict scrutiny.”

tangent

Shortly after the court decision, Elon Musk tweeted: “California's unconstitutional law violating your freedom of speech has been blocked by the court.” Musk also congratulated Kohl's and said: “Score one for the people's right to free speech.” In July, Musk endorsed – the supported former President Donald Trump's bid for the White House – Kohls' deepfake campaign video that used AI-generated audio clips to mimic Harris' voice, describing her as the “ultimate diversity worker” and “puppet of the deep States.” Musk's post promoting the video was viewed more than 135 million times on ” After Newsom passed the legislation, Musk reshared the video and wrote, “You won't believe this, but Gavin Newsom just announced that he signed a LAW making parodies based on this video illegal.”

Further reading

X User Who Shared AI-Altered Video of Kamala Harris Sues to Block California's New Anti-Deepfakes Law (Forbes)

Musk Attacks Newsom, Says California's New Anti-Deepfake Law “Makes Parody Illegal” (Forbes)

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