California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a strict new censorship law Tuesday that will make it illegal to produce or distribute AI political videos around election season. Tell me that this doesn’t sound like it infringes on the First Amendment:
The new law, the strictest in the country, takes effect immediately and aims to crack down on deceptive content which uses artificial intelligence to create false images or videos.
The law makes it illegal to create and publish deepfakes ahead of Election Day and 60 days thereafter. It also allows courts to stop distribution of the materials and impose civil penalties, per The Associated Press.
The blowback was immediate. Former Republican State Senator Melissa Melendez (R) predicted this law will have a short shelf life:
I CANNOT WAIT for this to be tossed out by the courts 🍿 https://t.co/7HRNrOLLa7
— Senator Melissa Melendez…
