SLAPPED DOWN: Judge blocks Gov. Newsom’s new ‘deepfake’ law

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From the Washington Examiner: A federal judge blocked an artificial intelligence deepfake law Wednesday that protects against political disinformation just two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed it into law.

The ruling is the result of a lawsuit filed by Chris Kohls, known as “Mr Reagan” on X. Kohls is the original poster of an AI video that replicated Vice President Kamala Harris’s voice and went viral on X this summer. The video caught Newsom’s attention and prompted him to create the law. X owner Elon Musk reposted the video, making it even more widespread.

Kohls argued in the lawsuit that the video was a parody and was, therefore, protected by the First Amendment. Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez agreed that the law suppressed political speech.

“Most of [the law] acts as a hammer instead of a scalpel,” Mendez wrote, calling it “a blunt tool hinders humorous expression and unconstitutionally stifles the free and unfettered exchange of ideas.”

The law was found to be too broad, reaching past defamation and claiming satire and parodies could be harmful to an election. Simpler requirements, such as mandatory labeling, could fix portions of the law that are overreaching.

The judge did seem to agree with one part of the law, which required verbal disclosure of digitally altered content in audio-only recordings.

Kohl’s attorney, Ted Frank, announced on Sept. 17, “We at @hamlinclaw just filed a lawsuit against the attorney general and secretary of state of California on behalf of @MrReaganUSA, the creator the YouTube parody @elonmusk retweeted, to enjoin enforcement of these unconstitutional bills.”

“Victory for @mrreaganusa. Preliminary injunction granted,” Frank announced on Wednesday.

Kohls celebrated his victory on social media. He wrote:

“VICTORY! Lawsuit against Newsom has been won. According to the judge: “AB 2839 does not pass constitutional scrutiny because the law does not use the least restrictive means available for advancing the State’s interest here. As Plaintiffs persuasively argue, counter speech is a less restrictive alternative to prohibiting videos such as those posted by Plaintiff, no matter how offensive or inappropriate someone may find them. ‘“Especially as to political speech, counter speech is the tried and true buffer and elixir,” not speech restriction.’Thank you to to Ted Frank @tedfrank and his amazing legal team who made this happen.”

X owner Elon Musk wrote, “Congratulations! Score one for the people’s right to free speech.”

“Thank you, sir. We should go to war together again some time 👍🏻,” Kohls quipped.

John Cremeans shared the following commentary:

Deepfake Reprieve: A federal judge has blocked a California law that would have amounted to unconstitutional suppression of political speech. The judge ruled that the law, AB 2839, likely violates the First Amendment.

Let’s face it. Parody and Satire is a part of life and is not illegal. California Gov. Gavin Newsom says wouldn’t rule out legal action against Elon Musk and others for posting AI-generated election memes, claiming it could “Harm Democracy.” Ironically he’s the same Governor that forced vaccinations on his State’s citizens, locked people in their homes, closed businesses and overtaxes everyone that lives there.

Parody and Satire are protected forms of speech under the 1st Amendment! The landmark Supreme Court case *Hustler Magazine v. Falwell* (1988) established that parodies, even if they are offensive or hurtful to public figures, are protected under the First Amendment. This case involved a parody ad that was so outrageous it could not reasonably have been interpreted as stating actual facts, thus falling under protected speech. Parody often involves commentary on social, political, or cultural issues, which aligns with the core principles of free speech intended to foster open debate and criticism of public figures and institutions. The First Amendment protects this form of expression because it contributes to a marketplace of ideas, where even offensive or satirical speech can have value.

Parody differs from defamation because it is not intended to be taken as fact. Courts have recognized that for speech to be actionable as defamation, it must be a false statement of fact, not opinion or satire. Parodies, by their nature, are understood not to assert factual claims.

Parody serves the public interest by allowing for the critique of public figures and societal norms through humor. This form of speech can highlight hypocrisies or absurdities in a way that direct criticism might not, thereby enriching public discourse.

With all that said, parody enjoys strong protection, it’s not absolute. If a parody crosses into the realm of incitement to violence or if it’s misused to defame through false statements of fact with actual malice (knowing falsehood or reckless disregard for the truth), it could potentially lose its protected status. But generally, parody as a form of expression, especially when clearly intended as satire and not factual reporting, is safeguarded by free speech principles in the US.

Our Freedom of Speech is under attack. We, as Americans need to make sure our most fundamental of values are usurped by Democrats!

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