FIRE on Newsom’s ‘Deepfake’ Ban: ‘Threatens Satire, Parody, … Speech’

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) came out strongly against California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for signing a new law banning so-called “deepfakes” in elections, saying it threatens free speech.

As Breitbart News reported, Newsom signed two bills, AB 2655 and AB 2839, earlier this week, ostensibly in response to a “deepfake” voiceover posted by X owner Elon Musk, which was a parody of a Kamala Harris advertisement.

As Breitbart News noted:

The second bill [AB 2389] targets deepfakes, which show “[a] candidate for any federal, state, or local elected office in California portrayed as doing or saying something that the candidate did not do or say if the content is reasonably likely to harm the reputation or electoral prospects of a candidate.” There are exceptions for satire, parody, and news reporting, as long as the “deepfake” is accompanied by a disclaimer.

According to FIRE, even the disclaimer is not enough. FIRE Director of Public Advocacy Aaron Terr issued a statement:

In targeting “deceptive” political content, California’s new law threatens satire, parody, and other First Amendment-protected speech.

A.B. 2839 bans sharing “deceptive” digitally modified content about candidates for office for any purpose. That means sharing such content even to criticize it or point out it’s fake could violate the law.

The law also requires satire and parody to be labeled, like requiring a comedian to preface every joke with an announcement he’s making a joke. That’s not funny — it’s scary.

Whatever concerns exist about AI-generated expression, violating the First Amendment isn’t the way to address them.

Newsom’s office has been reaching out to reporters, apparently because it is concerned about criticism over the law. A spokesman for Newsom sought to assure the media that satire and parody were not outlawed by the new legislation.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.