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A federal judge blocked one of California ’s new AI laws on Wednesday , less than two weeks after it was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom . concisely after signing AB 2839 , Newsom suggested it could be used toforce Elon Musk to take downan AI deepfake of Vice President Kamala Harris he had reposted ( spark apetty on-line battlebetween the two ) . However , a California judge just ruled the state ca n’t coerce hoi polloi to take down election deepfakes – not yet , at least .
AB 2839 targets the distributors of AI deepfakes on social mass medium , specifically if their post resembles a political candidate and the post horse be intimate it ’s a fake that may confuse voter . The law is unique because it does not go after the platforms on which AI deepfakes seem , but rather those who diffuse them . AB 2839 empowers California judge to order the post horse of AI deepfakes to take them down or potentially face monetary punishment .
Perhaps unsurprisingly , the original poster of that AI deepfake – an X user named Christopher Kohls – filed a suit to block California ’s new law as unconstitutional just a mean solar day after it was signalise . Kohls ’ lawyer wrote in acomplaintthat the deepfake of Kamala Harris is irony that should be protect by the First Amendment .
On Wednesday , United States district jurist John Mendez sided with Kohls . Mendez ordered a preliminary injunction to temporarily bar California ’s attorney general from impose the young legal philosophy against Kohls or anyone else , with the exception of audio substance that fall down under AB 2839 .
say for yourself what Judge Mendez tell inhis determination :
In essence , he rule the law is simply too broad as written and could result in serious overstepping by state assurance into what speech is let or not .
Because this is a preliminary cease and desist order , we ’ll have to wait and see whether this California law is genuinely jam for skillful , but either way it is improbable to have much effect on next month ’s election . AB 2839 is one of18 new lawsrelating to AI that Newsom has signed in the last month .
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It ’s nevertheless a enceinte win for Elon Musk ’s bivouac of free speech posters on X. In the days follow Newsom signing AB 2839 into law , Musk and his common friend posted aseries of AI deepfakesthat essay California ’s raw law .
