I'm tired of the Babylon Bee satirical website. Arguing that California's recent laws regarding online speech go too far, Bee officials have filed a complaint with California Attorney General Robert Bonta asking the court to enforce regulations deemed unconstitutional. I asked them to stop it immediately. including some new laws AB 2355, AB 2655and AB 2839has been accused of eroding First Amendment free speech protections.
In fact, AB 2839 was recently ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge. Judge John A. Mendez of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California said the law “acts as a hammer rather than a scalpel” and “prevents the expression of humor.”
In an exclusive interview with Blaze News, Kristen Wagoner Alliance to Defend Freedom He spoke about the ongoing battle on behalf of the Babylon Bee.
“California's law is a roadmap to widespread censorship. It uses vague standards to punish people who post certain political memes online,” Wagoner said. “If Americans can be sued for posting or reposting political jokes, we don't live in a free society.”
Perhaps the most egregious law is AB 2655, also known as the Protecting Democracies from Deepfake Fraud Act of 2024.
of the bill digest The law states that any person or entity is prohibited from distributing deceptive audio or visual media about candidates for elected office within 60 days after an election. Content can be considered illegal if it is intended to “damage a candidate's reputation or deceive voters into voting for or against a candidate.”
The law also requires “large online platforms” to block deceptive content before and after elections.
“Individuals must be able to express their political beliefs without fear.”
Under California law, platforms are required to develop reporting procedures for California residents to flag content that is “not blocked or labeled in accordance with the law.”
The law “censors parody and satire,” Wagoner continued. “When Governor Newsom signed the law, he publicly said that [California] It has been made illegal to post parody videos about Kamala Harris. So even Governor Newsom believes the law prohibits satire,” she argued.
Wagoner went on to say that government officials seem unable to clearly explain to the public how far the law applies. Wagoner added that such actions “kill the humor” and can blur the line between democracy and dictatorship.
Based on what it describes as vague standards with stiff penalties, Babylon Bee is calling on the government to halt the new law before it gets out of control.
“In a free society, individuals should be able to express their political beliefs without fear of being dragged into court for defending a meme. should not be trusted as the arbiter of truth,” the lawyer added.
Newsom spokeswoman Izzy Gardon said. said The governor's office said in a statement that it is “confident” the court will ultimately uphold the new law against “deepfakes.”
“Deepfakes threaten the integrity of elections, and these new laws protect democracy while preserving free speech,” the spokesperson said.
Do you like Blaze News? Avoid censorship and sign up for our newsletter to get articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. Please register here!
