SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California now has some of the toughest laws in the United States to crack down on election deepfakes ahead of the 2024 election after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three landmark proposals this week at an artificial intelligence conference in San Francisco.
The state could be among the first to test out such legislation, which bans the use of AI to create and circulate false images and videos in political ads close to Election Day.
But now, two of the three laws, including one that was designed to curb the practice in the 2024 election, are being challenged in court through a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Sacramento.
Those include one that takes effect immediately that allows any individual to sue for damages over election deepfakes, while the other requires large online platforms, like X, to remove the deceptive material starting next year.
The lawsuit, filed by a person who created parody videos featuring altered audios of Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, says the laws censor free speech and allow anybody to take legal action over content they dislike. At least one of his videos was shared by Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X, which then prompted Newsom to vow to ban such content on a post on X.
The governor's office said the law doesn't ban satire and parody content. Instead, it requires the disclosure of the use of AI to be displayed within the altered videos or images.
“It’s unclear why this conservative activist is suing California,” Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon said in a statement. “This new disclosure law for election misinformation isn’t any more onerous than laws already passed in other states, including Alabama.”
Theodore Frank, an attorney representing the complainant, said the California laws are too far reaching and are designed to “force social media companies to censor and harass people.”
“I’m not familiar with the Alabama law. On the other hand, the governor of Alabama had hasn’t threatened our client the way the governor of California did,” he told The Associated Press.
The lawsuit appears to be among the first legal challenges over such legislation in the U.S. Frank told the AP he is planning to file another lawsuit over similar laws in Minnesota.
State lawmakers in more than a dozen states have advanced similar proposals after the emergence of AI began supercharging the threat of election disinformation worldwide.
Among the three law signed by Newsom on Tuesday, one takes effect immediately to prevent deepfakes surrounding the 2024 election and is the most sweeping in scope. It targets not only materials that could affect how people vote but also any videos and images that could misrepresent election integrity. The law also covers materials depicting election workers and voting machines, not just political candidates.
The law makes it illegal to create and publish false materials related to elections 120 days before Election Day and 60 days thereafter. It also allows courts to stop the distribution of the materials, and violators could face civil penalties. The law exempts parody and satire.
The goal, Newsom and lawmakers said, is to prevent the erosion of public trust in U.S. elections amid a “fraught political climate.”
But critics such as free speech advocates and Musk called the new California law unconstitutional and an infringement on the First Amendment. Hours after they were signed into law, Musk on Tuesday night elevated a post on X sharing an AI-generated video featuring altered audios of Harris.
“The governor of California just made this parody video illegal in violation of the Constitution of the United States. Would be a shame if it went viral," Musk wrote of the AI-generated video, which has a caption identifying the video as a parody.
It is not clear how effective these laws are in stopping election deepfakes, said Ilana Beller of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. The group tracks state legislation related to election deepfakes. None of the law has been tested in a courtroom, Beller said.
The law's effectiveness could be blunted by the slowness of the courts against a technology that can produce fake images for political ads and disseminate them at warp speed.
It could take several days for a court to order injunctive relief to stop the distribution of the content, and by then, damages to a candidate or to an election could have been already done, Beller said.
“In an ideal world, we’d be able to take the content down the second it goes up,” she said. “Because the sooner you can take down the content, the less people see it, the less people proliferate it through reposts and the like, and the quicker you’re able to dispel it.”
Still, having such a law on the books could serve as a deterrent for potential violations, she said.
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said the law she authored is a simple tool to avoid misinformation.
“What we’re saying is, hey, just mark that video as digitally altered for parody purposes,” Pellerin said. “And so it’s very clear that it’s for satire or for parody.”
Newsom on Tuesday also signed another law to require campaigns to start disclosing AI-generated materials starting next year, after the 2024 election.
FILE - Elon Musk arrives at the 10th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on April 13, 2024, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at the opening ceremony for Panda Ridge, the new exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, Aug. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan, File)
Some of the NFL's biggest moments of late have come not on the field but the sideline.
Spats. Shoves. Snubs. Snapbacks.
It started with Aaron Rodgers refusing a bro hug from Robert Saleh after a touchdown in September before things went sour at the the New York Jets training center.
Two instigators who raised eyebrows in Week 6 quickly backtracked with Maxx Crosby denying his two-handed shove to the chest of an assistant Raiders coach was out of malice and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni apologizing for taunting his own fanbase at the Linc following a narrow win over the Browns.
Jerry Jones had a very unhappy 82nd birthday watching his Cowboys' fourth straight home loss, a 47-9 thrashing from the Detroit Lions. But Jones said after the worst home loss since he bought the team in 1989 that he's not considering dumping coach Mike McCarthy like Woody Johnson canned Saleh five days earlier.
Dallas' home skid includes lopsided losses to the Packers in the playoffs and the Saints this season along with a 28-25 loss to the Ravens after falling behind 28-6.
So, Saleh's stunningly early pink slip heading into Week 6 with the Jets just one game out of first place in the AFC East didn't lead to any copycats like so many other things in NFL do — at least not right away.
Rodgers and Saleh made light of their awkward moment in the aftermath of their rout of the Patriots, but the laugh track ended following two subsequent ugly offensive performances in back-to-back losses and Saleh was shown the exit as he was preparing the Jets for their showdown against the Bills on Monday night.
Rodgers insisted he played no role in Saleh's firing, which came as Saleh was reportedly considering stripping Nathaniel Hackett of his offensive play-calling duties, something Jeff Ulbrich did in his first major move as interim head coach on Thursday.
Ulbrich replaced Hackett with Todd Downing, the Jets’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Hackett — who is close to Rodgers from their time together in Green Bay — chose to remain with the team and retained his offensive coordinator title.
Rodgers, who nearly had his first 300-yard passing game since 2021 in New York's 23-20 loss to Buffalo on Monday night that dropped them to 2-4, said during the week that he takes a lot of the blame for the team's struggles and feels some responsibility for the changes because he hasn’t played up to his standard.
Rodgers, by the way, levied some serious criticism at the officials Monday night for throwing 22 combined flags for 204 penalty yards: “It seemed a little ridiculous. Some of them seemed really bad. Including the roughing passer on me. That’s not roughing the passer.”
Sirianni apologized Monday for gesturing and jawing at fans in the final moments of a win during which restless fans booed a listless performance and “Fire Nick!” chants permeated pockets at Lincoln Financial Field. After the team's fourth win in its last dozen tries, Sirianni defended his antics, saying he was simply “excited” to get a victory. He added the Eagles “don’t necessarily like it” when fans boo at home games.
Sirianni struck a conciliatory tone for his behavior a day later after his boorish behavior was ripped by fans and media.
“I was trying to bring energy yesterday. Energy, enthusiasm,” Sirianni said Monday. “I’m sorry and disappointed at how my energy was directed at the end of the game. My energy should be all in on coaching, motivating and celebrating with our guys.”
The Raiders have been the among the league leaders in drama this season with Devante Adams' trade request, a quarterback shuffling and now their superstar Crosby shoving Mike Caldwell, the Raiders' run game coordinator and linebackers coach, during the Raiders' 32-13 loss to the Steelers.
Crosby called it a “love push” in a post on X, and also addressed the situation at his locker with reporters after the game, saying, "Mike Caldwell is a great dude. We have a great relationship, and we do that all the time. ... That's how we play football. We're grown men. We're alpha males. We don't greet each other the same.
“So ... like he was just hyping me up and I hyped him up like, 'Let's go!' We're down, but it just showed that we're not quitting. And so that was literally all it was,” Crosby added. "... The camera, they made it look bad. It looked like I was throwing him out the club but that was not what happened at all.”
A week earlier, the Raiders lost in Denver, where Bo Nix clapped back at coach Sean Payton, who laid into his rookie quarterback as he retreated to the sideline following an off-script incompletion in the end zone.
Payton called his passionate reaction “my love language," and added that Nix still has “some Ferris Bueller in him," a babyboomer jab that made a lot more sense Sunday when the Broncos offense took much of the day off in their loss to the Chargers, falling behind 23-0 in the fourth quarter. At halftime. Nix had just three completions for 22 yards, plus an interception that safety Elijah Molden returned 25 yards.
With contributions from AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak Jr., and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
New York Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in East Rutherford, N.J., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers walks on the field during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in East Rutherford, N.J., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones stands on the field during warmups before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, left, and quarterback Dak Prescott (4) watch play against the Detroit Lions in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) points during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Geneva Heffernan)
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/David Becker)
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks during a news conference with son Miles after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
