Orwell's move by former speaker of Texas House of Representatives Dade Phelan (R) has introduced a bill to criminalize political expression in Texas.
House Bill 366 criminalizes distributing altered media, including political memes, without government-approved disclaimers. Violators of the proposed bill could face up to one year of prison for political memes.
“Wait, did you think there's not much government here in Texas?” Sarah Gonzalez Ask about “come and take it.” “I personally feel attacked. I'm not going to lie. I feel this was written because Dade Phelan wants me to be in prison.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxtoljfxmqs
The bill specifically targets political ads that feature images, audio recordings or video recordings of the appearance, speech or actions of an office owner or candidate that did not occur in reality.
This includes media that has been modified using generative artificial intelligence technology.
“It's ridiculous that you can use AI to make all sorts of photos, all sorts of photos,” says Gonzalez. “It's not saying, 'Hey, if this is satire, you get a pass.' This isn't saying, “Hey, if this is so ridiculous, if a reasonable person knows it's obviously satire, if it's obviously photoshoot.”
In response to criticism, Representative Phelan said, “I'm not here for your memes. If you like your memes, you can keep your memes. This has nothing to do with X or Facebook or anything like that.”
But Gonzalez didn't buy it.
“James Tinley, the legal counsel at TEC, has just blatantly said that social media posts are subject to this communist Chinese-style law,” she says.
“If you like doctors, you can have a doctor. If you like healthcare, you can maintain your healthcare,” says Gonzalez. “Obviously a throwback to that line, because just like Obama was lying when he said, Dade Phelan also lies when he said, “If you like memes, you can keep memes.” ”
“So the irony has not been lost to me,” she adds.
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