The Babylon Bee filed a lawsuit Monday against the state of California, alleging that two recently enacted laws signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom violate the First Amendment by illegally targeting political satire. . newsome signed The two laws went into effect on September 17, and in a statement it said it was “taking steps to address the use of deepfakes and other deceptive digitally generated or altered content in election campaigns.” said.
But the conservative satirical website Babylon Bee argues in a federal lawsuit that the two laws “use vague and broad language that gives California unlimited enforcement discretion,” according to the Constitution. It was claimed that the rights protected by the law were infringed upon.
Alliance Defending Freedom represents the Babylon Bee with Kelly Chan Rickert, a California attorney who regularly participates in online political discussions on her blog and social media accounts.
The California state legislature passed the law after Newsom complained about a Kamala Harris parody video, according to the complaint.
“California's fight against political memes is censorship, plain and simple. The government should not be trusted to determine what is true in online political discussions,” said ADF's Jonathan Scruggs. Ta. “Governor Newsom has no constitutional authority to act as humor police. Lawmakers act as if posting and re-sharing memes is a threat to democracy, but at the end of the day, these laws… It censors speech that California politicians don't like.”
Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon said the new law targets protected speech.
“Our job is tough when the jokes keep coming off like prophecies,” Dillon said. “But it becomes even more difficult when self-serving politicians abuse their power to control public debate and try to police comedy. Unfortunately for them, the First Amendment is securing our right to tell jokes they don’t like.”
One of the laws at issue, AB 2655, would require large online platforms to “publish deceptive, digitally altered or created content related to elections,” Newsom's office said. , to be removed or labeled within a specified period of time, and provide a mechanism for reporting such content. It also “authorizes candidates, elected officials, election officials, attorneys general, district attorneys, or city attorneys to sue such platforms.”
Another law, AB 2839, prohibits the distribution of “grossly deceptive” information about elected officials or candidates, Newsom's office said.
But ADF says the law “uses vague and overbroad terms that give California unlimited enforcement discretion.” The law includes language such as “appearing falsely to a reasonable person,'' “reasonably likely to damage a candidate's reputation or electoral prospects,'' and “undermining confidence in the outcome of an election.'' are. [an] …election contest” lawsuit Say.
“These broad and vague laws will chill speech and debate critical of politicians and their platforms,” the complaint states. “Such censorship threatens the heart of public debate: fact and opinion, truth and lies, exaggeration and malicious deception, and humor when discussing controversial political ideas, candidates, and views. It is often difficult to distinguish between bad faith and malice. That's why constitutional amendments give air to political ideas, even if they are wrong or deceptive. Article 1 trusts that the American people can think and decide for themselves in the context of discussing political candidates and candidates, a trust California officials do not share. They don't want to judge political truth online.
Newsom said he will protect the public by signing the law.
“Protecting the integrity of elections is essential to democracy, especially in today's dangerous political climate, and it is important to ensure that AI is not deployed to undermine public trust through disinformation,” Newsom said. he said. “These measures will help combat the harmful use of deepfakes in political advertising and other content. One.”
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michael faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His articles have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star, and Knoxville News Sentinel.
