Federal judge blocks California law banning election deepfakes

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a California bill that outlaws AI-generated “deepfake” content and required the removal of “deceptive content” from social media. 

The preliminary injunction comes just two weeks after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the controversial measure into law, igniting a spat with X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. It also comes roughly a month before Election Day. 

The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute had filed a lawsuit on behalf of Christopher Kohls, known as “Mr Reagan” online, who created satirical political videos, including one calling out the governor targeted as being “illegal” under the bill he signed. 

In the lawsuit, Reagan argued that the bill was unconstitutional. 

“The court agreed, granting a preliminary injunction that finds California has no ‘license to bulldoze over the longstanding tradition of critique, parody, and satire protected by the First Amendment,’” HLLI said in a news release. “HLLI does not know whether California intends to appeal.”

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A spokesperson for Newsom’s office warned that deepfakes “threaten the integrity of our elections, and these new laws protect our democracy while preserving free speech — in a manner no more stringent than those in other states, including deep-red Alabama.”

“We’re confident the courts will uphold the state’s ability to regulate these types of dangerous and misleading deepfakes,” the governor’s office said in a statement to Fox News Digital, noting that “Satire remains alive and well in California — even for those who miss the punchline.”

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report. 

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