It’s safe to laugh at politicians again in California, no thanks to Gov. Gavin Newsom and his loathsome Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024 — which U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez blocked on Wednesday.
Mendez determined that the law, also known as AB2839, gave legislators “unbridled license to bulldoze over the longstanding tradition of critique, parody, and satire protected by the First Amendment.” Mendez’s ruling went on to say that while the state has a “valid interest in protecting the integrity and reliability” of elections, AB2839 went too far. He called it a “blunt tool that hinders humorous expression and unconstitutionally stifles the free and unfettered exchange of ideas.”
The case came before Mendez’s court thanks to California-based satirist Christopher Kohls, who filed the suit. He took to X almost immediately to declare, “VICTORY! Lawsuit against Newsom has been won.”
No less than Elon Musk replied, “Congratulations! Score one for the people’s right to free speech.”
This is just a preliminary injunction, however. The battle has been won but not the war.
Here’s a bit more:
“Especially as to political speech, counter speech is the tried and true buffer and elixir, not speech restriction.”
This was the best part of the ruling.
If you don’t like an idea, counter it. The better idea will win the day. Speech restrictions is not an option for…
— Simon VanDyk (@VandykSimon) October 3, 2024
I wish I could give that a million and six of those silly little Like hearts.
Not that anyone seemed to be following the new law, even before the injunction. My response the day after Newsom signed AB2839 into law was to generate a bunch of parody images of Newsom, Nancy Pelosi, and Kamala Harris — and a taunt.
“Come and take down my images, Gavin. I’d love to see you in court.”
It seems like Mendez’s ruling might have become a slam dunk the moment Newsom took to X to declare that, under the Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act, posts like this one would be illegal…
Kamala Harris Campaign Ad PARODY pic.twitter.com/5lBxvyTZ3o
— Mr Reagan 🇺🇸 (@MrReaganUSA) July 26, 2024
…even though it says “Parody” right on the box in REALLY BIG LETTERS.
No, really — Newsom did that.
Manipulating a voice in an “ad” like this one should be illegal.
I’ll be signing a bill in a matter of weeks to make sure it is. pic.twitter.com/NuqOETkwTI
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 29, 2024
Note that Newsom said the “manipulation” itself should be illegal, not that it should be illegal to fraudulently pass off an AI-generated voice as real. That’s a huge distinction but one that Newsom doesn’t seem to have taken the time or care to recognize.
So, if you’ll allow me to paraphrase Newsom’s political role model, Mao Tze Tung, “Let a thousand deepfakes bloom.”
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