Creator of Kamala Harris parody video sues California over ‘deepfake’ ban

IN CALIFORNIA, THE LEGAL BATTLE CONTINUES OVER THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN POLITICS. THE CREATOR OF A CONTROVERSIAL KAMALA HARRIS PARODY VIDEO IS SUING THE STATE, CLAIMING THAT LAWS RECENTLY SIGNED BY GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM VIOLATE FREE SPEECH RIGHTS. 

CHRISTOPHER KOHLS, A CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR KNOWN BY HIS ONLINE ALIAS ‘MR. REAGAN,’ IS AT THE CENTER OF THIS LAWSUIT. BACK IN JULY, KOHLS POSTED A VIDEO USING AI TO IMITATE THE VICE PRESIDENT’S VOICE, PORTRAYING HER AS, QUOTE, ‘THE ULTIMATE DIVERSITY HIRE,’ IN A PARODY OF A HARRIS CAMPAIGN AD. THE VIDEO QUICKLY WENT VIRAL, EVEN CATCHING THE ATTENTION OF X OWNER ELON MUSK, WHO SHARED IT WITH MILLIONS… WITHOUT LABELING IT AS SATIRE.

IN RESPONSE, GOVERNOR NEWSOM PROMISED SWIFT ACTION TO BAN SUCH AI-ALTERED POLITICAL CONTENT… SIGNING NEW LAWS THAT SPECIFICALLY TARGET FRAUDULENT CAMPAIGN MATERIALS CREATED WITH AI. THESE LAWS AIM TO PROTECT VOTERS FROM MISLEADING OR FALSE INFORMATION. 

BUT KOHLS IS NOW FIGHTING BACK. HIS LAWSUIT CLAIMS THE BAN VIOLATES HIS FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH, ARGUING THAT POLITICAL SATIRE IS PROTECTED UNDER THE CONSTITUTION, EVEN WHEN CREATED USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. THE COMPLAINT ALSO INVOKES THE 14TH AMENDMENT, SUGGESTING THE STATE IS UNFAIRLY TARGETING POLITICAL EXPRESSION THROUGH NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

LEGAL EXPERTS SAY THE CASE COULD SET A PRECEDENT FOR HOW AI-GENERATED CONTENT IS REGULATED IN FUTURE ELECTIONS AND WHETHER EXISTING FREE SPEECH PROTECTIONS EXTEND TO DIGITAL PARODIES.

AS OF NOW… GOVERNOR NEWSOM’S OFFICE HAS NOT YET COMMENTED ON THE LAWSUIT.

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