On Wednesday, a federal judge halted a newly enacted California law that limited the use of digitally manipulated political “deepfakes,” just two weeks after Governor Gavin Newsom approved the bill.
This decision represents a setback for prominent Democrats in the state, who had aimed to curb deceptive content on social media before the upcoming election.
Chris Kohls, who goes by “Mr Reagan” on X, filed a lawsuit to block enforcement of the law after sharing an AI-created video of a Harris campaign ad on the platform. He argued that the video was a parody and thus safeguarded by the First Amendment. The judge sided with him.
Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez stated that much of the law operates like “a hammer rather than a scalpel,” describing it as “a blunt tool” that restricts humorous expression and unconstitutionally limits the free flow of ideas.
However, he made an exception for a part of the law deemed “not unduly burdensome,” which mandates verbal disclosure of digitally altered content in audio-only recordings.
Theodore Frank, Kohls’ attorney, expressed satisfaction, stating they were “pleased that the district court aligned with our reasoning.”
Meanwhile, Izzy Gardon, spokesperson for Governor Newsom, voiced confidence that the courts would ultimately affirm California’s authority to regulate deepfakes. Gardon defended the law as reasonable, comparing it to a similar regulation enacted in Alabama.
“Deepfakes pose a threat to the integrity of our elections, and these new laws aim to safeguard our democracy while upholding free speech,” stated Gardon.
He added, “Satire is still thriving in California, even for those who might not get the joke.” Kohls originally shared the video in July, which digitally alters Harris’ voice to declare her as the “ultimate diversity hire.”
The clip was circulated by Elon Musk, leading to a public backlash from Newsom, who promised to ban such practices.
Following the signing of the law last month, Musk responded by sharing the video again on X, remarking, “The governor of California just made this parody video illegal, violating the Constitution of the United States.”
“It would be unfortunate if it gained widespread attention.” The video has since amassed more than 52 million views.
Following the ruling, Musk celebrated on Wednesday with an X post stating, “The court has blocked California’s unconstitutional law that infringes on your freedom of speech. Yay!”
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