{"id":1795,"date":"2024-09-20T14:44:19","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T21:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/?post_type=article&#038;p=1795"},"modified":"2025-07-29T10:00:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T17:00:52","slug":"california-initiative-for-technology-and-democracy-cited-first-amendment-notes","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/articles\/california-initiative-for-technology-and-democracy-cited-first-amendment-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"CITED: First Amendment Notes"},"template":"","class_list":["post-1795","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-article"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"AB 2839 and AB 2655 are narrowly tailored and carefully crafted to address the worst election disinformation without compromising free speech, inhibiting our political conversation, or inadvertently compromising harmless content. ","featured_image":"","article_type":84,"authors":"","related_issues":[102,430],"related_work":false,"location":null},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<h3><b>California Initiative for Technology and Democracy (CITED) First Amendment Notes<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Governor Newsom recently <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/press\/newsom-signs-first-in-nation-laws-to-address-unregulated-ais-threat-to-democracy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">signed two pieces of legislation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> addressing the threat that AI-powered disinformation poses to our elections. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2839\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AB 2839<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2655\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AB 2655<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are narrowly tailored and carefully crafted to address the worst election disinformation without compromising free speech, inhibiting our political conversation, or inadvertently compromising harmless content.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2839\"><b>AB 2839<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\r\n<strong>The Limited Nature of <a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2839\">AB 2839<\/a><\/strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2839\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AB 2839<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, effective immediately, prohibits political deepfakes that portray a candidate, an elected official, or elections official as doing or saying something that they did not do or say, or specified election equipment and voting sites in a materially false way. It does this in a way that targets just the worst of election disinformation.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It applies only to \u201cmaterially deceptive\u201d deepfake content, meaning it only applies to content that would deceive a reasonable person. Things that are obviously fake, jokey, cartoonish, or satirical are not touched by the bill. (\u00a7 20012(b)(1))<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It requires \u201cmalice\u201d on the part of the person distributing the materially deceptive deepfake content, meaning it only applies if the person knows the content is false or acts with reckless disregard as to the truth. (\u00a7 20012(b)(1))<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parody or satirical political deepfakes that are so hyper-realistic they would fool a reasonable person into believing they are true must inform the viewer that the content was digitally created or manipulated. (\u00a7 20012(b)(3))<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It only applies within 120 days before an election and, for those deepfakes regarding election officials or voting systems, within 60 days after the election. It applies only when the risk of election disinformation is highest, not at all times. (\u00a7 20012(c))<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<strong>Only Bad Actors Have Anything to Worry About<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In short, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2839\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AB 2839<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> only prohibits political deepfakes that are intended to deceive and are so sophisticated that they WOULD deceive a reasonable person. (A reasonable person standard is common in the law and courts have no difficulty applying it in various areas.) Unless a social media user or political actor is attempting to lie to and deceive their fellow Americans and fraudulently undermine an election, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2839\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AB 2839<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> does not affect them.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<strong>What Would <a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2839\">AB 2839<\/a> Apply to, In Real Terms?<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An example of a political deepfake the bill would apply to is the \u201cJoe Biden\u201d robocall that went to New Hampshire Democrats before that state\u2019s primary election, urging them NOT to vote. The fake robocall was intended to deceive voters and sophisticated enough that it would deceive almost anyone.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<strong>What are the Remedies in the Law?<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2839\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AB 2839<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> allows a recipient or victim of a deepfake that is in violation of the bill to use an expedited process to quickly stop the spread of the disinformation through injunctive relief, and to seek damages as appropriate. There is no criminal liability.<\/span>\r\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2655\"><b>AB 2655<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\r\n<strong>The Limited Nature of <a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2655\">AB 2655<\/a><\/strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2655\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AB 2655<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, effective Jan 1, 2025, seeks to stop, for a strictly limited time before and after elections, the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">online<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> spread of the worst deepfakes and disinformation maliciously intended to prevent voters from voting or getting them to vote erroneously based on fraudulent content.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It does so by requiring large online platforms to remove such content upon notification. Content that may be banned is limited to deepfakes of candidates, elections officials, and elected officials intended to defraud voters. The bill also requires that other fake online content related to elections must be labeled as fake, again just for a limited time.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It applies only to \u201cmaterially deceptive\u201d deepfake content, meaning it only applies to content that would deceive a reasonable person. Things that are obviously fake, jokey, cartoonish, or satirical are not touched by the bill. (\u00a7 20513(a))<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It requires the content to be distributed with malice. (\u00a7\u00a7 20513(a)(2)(C), 20514(a)(3))<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It only applies within 120 days before an election and, for those deepfakes regarding election officials, within 60 days after the election. It applies only when the risk of election disinformation is highest, not at all times. (\u00a7 20513(e))<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parody or satire are specifically exempted from the legislation. (\u00a7 20519(c))<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<strong>What Would <a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2655\">AB 2655<\/a> Apply to, In Real Terms?<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An example of a political deepfake the bill would apply to is a Tik Tok post that includes a deepfake of a local mayor \u201ccaught on tape\u201d taking a bribe, right before Election Day, or an X post that includes a deepfake of a county elections official saying that their voting machines were all hacked, right after Election Day.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<strong>What are the Remedies in the Law?<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2655\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AB 2655<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is enforceable through an expedited process to quickly stop the spread of the disinformation through injunctive relief. There is no criminal or civil liability.<\/span>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_related_articles","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_related_articles":{"heading":"Updates","button_text":"See all Related Articles","manually_curate":false,"articles":null}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CITED: First Amendment Notes - Common Cause California<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/articles\/california-initiative-for-technology-and-democracy-cited-first-amendment-notes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CITED: First Amendment Notes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AB 2839 and AB 2655 are narrowly tailored and carefully crafted to address the worst election disinformation without compromising free speech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/articles\/california-initiative-for-technology-and-democracy-cited-first-amendment-notes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause California\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-29T17:00:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/CITED.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/articles\/california-initiative-for-technology-and-democracy-cited-first-amendment-notes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/articles\/california-initiative-for-technology-and-democracy-cited-first-amendment-notes\/\",\"name\":\"CITED: First Amendment Notes - 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