Federal Judge John A. Mendez has blocked a new California law that allowed any person to sue for damages over election deepfakes.
A federal court judge has put a preliminary injunction over a two-week-old California law that effectively bans election deepfakes.
The law — AB 2839 — allowed any person to sue for damages over AI deepfakes if the perpetrator’s post resembles a political candidate within 120 days of an election and up to 60 days after.
Judge John A. Mendez said artificial intelligence and deepfakes pose significant risks but said the law is “unconstitutional” as it likely violates the First Amendment.
