Does California’s law cracking down on election ‘deepfakes’ run afoul of the First Amendment?

Andrew Sheeler
·5 min read
2

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

CALIFORNIA LAW AGAINST DECEPTIVE DEEPFAKES DRAW CRITICISM FROM FREE SPEECH GROUP

Via William Melhado...

A new law requiring campaigns to disclose if a political ad is AI-generated, also called a “deepfake,” drew criticism from a free speech group, which alleges California lawmakers threatened satire, parody, and other First Amendment-protected speech with the legislation.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2839 last week in an effort to crack down on deceptive political content. The governor initially signaled support for the legislation after social media company X owner Elon Musk reposted a video that included what appeared to be a fake voiceover of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The law allows candidates and election officials to take civil action against people who disseminate deepfakes.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression opposed the new law on the grounds that it poses risk to individual’s First Amendment rights. The group said that even people sharing AI-generated content for the purpose of criticizing it could be ensnared by the new 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,” said Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy with the free speech group.

AB 2839 was one of several that came out of the most recent legislative session attempting to add some guardrails to the rapidly growing, and largely unregulated, industry. Several others signed by Newsom last week created protections for artists to prevent their digital likeness from being cloned without their consent.

“Whatever concerns exist about AI-generated expression, violating the First Amendment isn’t the way to address them,” Terr said of AB 2839.

VIOLENT ACCELERATIONISTS REMAIN SMALL IN NUMBER, SURVEY SAYS

These are polarizing times, but the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program has some good news on that front: The number of people who believe that a second American civil war is both coming and needed remains incredibly small.

In 2023, 5.7% of those surveyed said a civil war was coming and 3.8% said it was needed. In 2024, 6.5% said civil war was inevitable and 3.6% said it was necessary. In other words, the numbers largely held steady.

A little more alarmingly, 8% of those surveyed said they would support a right wing insurgency, while 6.7% said they’d do so for a left wing insurgency.

Should a large-scale conflict break out, 3.7% of respondents said that they would participate as a combatant. Of that 3.7%, nearly half (44.5%) said they could be talked out of it by family, while 30.5% said they’d do so if a religious leader asked them not to. A quarter said they’d not do so if a friend asked them.

“These findings are generally good news. The expectation that civil war was coming, the belief that it was necessary, support for an insurgency, and willingness to participate as a combatant were all uncommon. Widespread public awareness of these findings could itself help prevent political violence from occurring,” said Dr. Garen Wintemute, the Baker-Teret Chair in Violence Prevention at UC Davis.

Wintemute said this survey, which polled 8,185 respondents between May 23 and June 14, shows that intervention “would likely prove useful” for preventing violence.

“The large majority of Americans who reject political violence need to make their opposition clear to family members, friends, and others in their social networks, with the expectation that this will change minds and help prevent political violence. Elected officials, community leaders, and the media should join in this effort,” he wrote.

He added that “Americans must also commit to non-retaliation, so that an isolated spark of political violence does not ignite a conflagration.”

CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT GROWS SLIGHTLY

Via David Lightman...

California’s unemployment rate ticked up slightly last month and remains among the nation’s highest rates.

After three straight months at 5.2%, California’s rate went to 5.3% in August, the state Employment Development Department reported.

The overall August California unemployment rate trailed only Nevada, at 5.5%, and is tied with Illinois. The national rate last month was 4.2%.

EDD emphasized positive aspects. The state gained 6,800 payroll jobs last month. Year over year growth was 1.6%, slightly above the nation’s 1.5%. It noted that five of the state’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs last month, led by leisure and hospitality.

The other six sectors recorded job losses. State government jobs were down. So were information sector jobs, partly because of job losses in the motor picture and video industry.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If you think the best oppo was dropped 50 days before the election just wait until all the denials and statements of GOP support are in. There’s more coming…”

- California GOP consultant Mike Madrid, via Threads.

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