Federal judge rules deepfakes are protected under First Amendment in blow to California law

A federal judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction against a California law that banned deepfakes, saying parody videos are protected under the First Amendment.

California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the ban on deepfakes last month, in an attempt to crackdown on the spread of misinformation heading into the 2024 election season. But Chris Kohls, known as “Mr Reagan” on X, sued the state in order to block the law, claiming he was protected under the First Amendment because his video was a parody.

Kohls had posted an AI-generated video of Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign ad on X in July, altering Harris's voice and calling her a "diversity hire," which was shared by X owner Elon Musk.

U.S. District Judge John Mendez agreed that parody videos such as deepfakes are protected by the First Amendment, asserting that YouTube videos, and social media posts are the "newspaper advertisements and political cartoons of today."

"[W]hile a well-founded fear of a digitally manipulated media landscape may be justified, this fear does not give legislators unbridled license to bulldoze over the longstanding tradition of critique, parody, and satire protected by the First Amendment," Mendez wrote in his 21-page ruling. "The First Amendment protects an individual’s right to speak regardless of the new medium these critiques may take."

Kohls' attorney Theodore Frank said Kohls' legal team was grateful for the ruling, and that the court sided with their argument, Politico reported.

Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon expressed disappointment at the ruling, but said the state was confident that higher courts would uphold the new law.

“Deepfakes threaten the integrity of our elections, and these new laws protect our democracy while preserving free speech,” Gardon said. “Satire remains alive and well in California — even for those who miss the punchline.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.