Elon Musk's X sues California over AI law targeting deepfakes, deceptive election content
Elon Musk's social media platform X is suing California over a new state law targeting deceptive, AI-generated election content, claiming that it violates First Amendment free speech protections
Known as the Defending Democracy From Deepfake Deception Act of 2024, the law requires social media companies to block and remove "materially deceptive" content related to elections and candidates beginning 120 days before an election in California, as well as 60 days after an election if the content pertains to election officials.
The measure also compels online platforms to label so-called deepfake content as being inauthentic and set up procedures for California residents to report content that is not in compliance.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2655 into law in September, one of three bills that received his signature this year that were aimed at cracking down on AI election deepfakes. The new laws immediately faced legal challenges.
The complaint filed by X on Thursday in Sacramento federal court argues that the law would lead to widespread censorship of political speech.
"There is a long history of the strongest of First Amendment protections for speech critical of government officials and candidates for public office that includes tolerance for potentially false speech made in the context of such criticisms," according to the complaint, which was first reported by Bloomberg News.
The lawsuit comes just weeks after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against a related measure, AB 2839, allowing any person to sue for damages over election deepfakes. U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez said that while artificial intelligence and deepfakes pose significant risks, the law likely violates the First Amendment.
The injunction came after a person who creates parody videos — including altered audio of Vice President Kamala Harris — filed a lawsuit claiming free speech censorship and saying the law would allow anyone to take legal action over content they dislike. One of his videos was shared by Musk on X, prompting Newsom to respond by vowing to ban such content.
Newsom's office says the laws against AI-generated election content do not ban satire and parodies, but requires the disclosure of the use of AI to be displayed.
More than half of all states in the country have passed or are considering bills to crack down on AI-generated election communications, according to a report from Axios.
