The satirical website the Babylon Bee has had enough. Claiming that California's recent laws on online speech have gone too far, those at the Bee have filed a motion against California’s Attorney General Robert Bonta, urging the courts to immediately halt enforcement of what they see as unconstitutional restrictions. Several new laws, including AB 2355, AB 2655, and AB 2839, have been accused of eroding the First Amendment protections of free speech.
In fact, AB 2839 was recently deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge. Judge John A. Mendez of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California said the law "acts as a hammer instead of a scalpel" and "hinders humorous expression."
In an exclusive interview with Blaze News, Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom spoke about the ongoing battle on behalf of the Babylon Bee.
"California's laws are a roadmap for widespread censorship. They use vague standards to punish people for posting certain political memes online," Waggoner said. "If Americans can be sued for posting, or even reposting political jokes, then we do not live in a free society."
Perhaps the most egregious law is AB 2655, also known as the Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024.
The bill's digest says the law prohibits any person or entity from distributing deceptive audio or visual media about a candidate for elected office within 60 days of the election. If the content intends to "injure the candidate’s reputation or to deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate," it could be considered illegal.
The law also requires any "large online platform" to block deceptive content before and after an election.
'Individuals must be able to express political beliefs without fear.'
Under the California law, platforms are required to develop reporting procedures for California residents to flag any content that "has not been blocked or labeled in compliance with the act."
The laws "censor parody and satire," Waggoner continued. "When Governor Newsom signed the laws, he said publicly that [California] made it illegal to post a parody video about Kamala Harris. So even Governor Newsom thinks the laws ban satire," she claimed.
Waggoner went on to say that the same government officials can't seem to articulate to the public how far the laws will go. These acts would "kill humor," Waggoner said, adding that they could blur the lines between a democracy and a dictatorship.
Based on what were described as vague standards with steep penalties, the Babylon Bee is asking the government to stop the new laws before they get out of control.
"In a free society, individuals must be able to express political beliefs without fear of being dragged into court to defend a meme. And we shouldn't trust politicians like Gavin Newsom to be arbiters of political truth online," the attorney added.
Newsom's spokesperson, Izzy Gardon, said in a statement that the governor's office was "confident" courts would ultimately uphold the new law against "deepfakes."
"Deepfakes threaten the integrity of our elections, and these new laws protect our democracy while preserving free speech," the spokesperson said.
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