A federal judge has halted California’s newly enacted AI law just days after its signing by Governor Gavin Newsom. Signed with the intent to combat harmful deepfakes, particularly those involving political candidates, AB 2839 sparked controversy, especially after Newsom suggested it could force Elon Musk to remove a deepfake of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The law specifically targets distributors of AI deepfakes on social media, especially when such posts resemble political candidates and the poster is aware it’s a fake that could mislead voters. Unlike many existing regulations, AB 2839 focuses on individuals spreading the content rather than the platforms themselves, empowering judges to mandate the removal of such deepfakes or impose monetary penalties on the posters.
However, shortly after the law was signed, the original poster of the AI deepfake, X user Christopher Kohls, filed a lawsuit claiming the law is unconstitutional. His lawyer argued that the deepfake is satire and thus protected by the First Amendment.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Mendez ruled in favor of Kohls, issuing a preliminary injunction that temporarily prevents California’s attorney general from enforcing the law against Kohls or others, except for audio messages covered by AB 2839.
Judge Mendez expressed concerns about the law’s broad language, stating, “Almost any digitally altered content, when left up to an arbitrary individual on the internet, could be considered harmful.” He warned that the law could suppress a wide range of political speech, emphasizing, “[W]hile a well-founded fear of a digitally manipulated media landscape may be justified, this fear does not give legislators unbridled license to bulldoze over the longstanding tradition of critique, parody, and satire protected by the First Amendment.”
Mendez concluded that California’s strong interest in preserving election integrity is overshadowed by the gravity of First Amendment values at stake. This preliminary injunction leaves the future of the law uncertain, but it is unlikely to impact next month’s election significantly. Notably, AB 2839 is one of 18 new laws related to AI signed by Newsom in the past month.
