1 day Ago
Topline An X user who created an AI-altered campaign video mocking Kamala Harris in July—which gained prominence after being shared by Elon Musk—has sued to block California’s new laws targeting political deepfakes, just a day after the state’s Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it. Key Facts Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines.
Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here . Key Background Newsom vowed to sign legislation to crack down on political deepfakes after Musk boosted Kohls’ video in July. At the time, Musk responded by mocking Newsom and saying “parody is legal in America.
” On Tuesday, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2839 , Assembly Bill 2655 and Assembly Bill 2355 while speaking on stage at Salesforce’s AI convention “Dreamforce.” AB 2839, which went into effect immediately, makes it illegal to distribute “materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate” 120 days before an election and in some cases, 60 days after. The legislation allows candidates to seek a court order to pull down any deepfake ads and also sue the person who distributed them.
However, parody and satire are exempted from the ban as long as they carry a disclosure. The two other bills, which go into effect next year, require platforms like X and Facebook to take down such political deepfakes and campaigns to make public disclosures if they run ads with AI-generated or altered visuals. How Musk Reacted To The New Laws? Musk has continued to attack Newsom since he signed the legislation on Tuesday.
Musk shared the video again on X and wrote : “You’re not gonna believe this, but Gavin Newsom, just announced that he signed a LAW to make parody illegal, based on this video.” The billionaire—who has endorsed Donald Trump—then called for “ new leadership ” in California and urged his followers to make the Harris deepfake video “viral.” On Wednesday, Musk continued his attacks against Newsom, California and the Democrats by suggesting a Harris win in November would lead to nationwide curbs against free speech.
Musk also boosted a deepfake ad made by Babylon Bee targeting Newsom. Further Reading Musk Attacks Newsom, Says California’s New Anti-Deepfake Law Makes ‘Parody Illegal’ (Forbes).
