Elon Musk criticizes Governor Newsom’s ban on AI deepfakes in political campaigns

Elon Musk, CEO of X, has openly criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom for enacting a new law banning deceptive AI-generated political videos. Musk, who has been vocal against several progressive measures, referred to Newsom as ‘The Joker’ concerning the bill that focuses on political deepfakes.

As highlighted by Cryptopolitan , Newsom signed the law on Tuesday that bars the dissemination of doctored material aimed at influencing voters. This move comes amidst rising fears that AI may be used to disseminate fake news during the upcoming US presidential elections, which will be the first to feature AI-generated political videos. 

Musk labels Newsom as “The Joker” and critiques law on social media

Newsom has been a recipient of Musk’s criticism, and the latter aired his views via his social media platform X. In several posts, Musk claimed that the new law goes against free speech. Musk described the decision made by Newsom as authoritarian and posted a picture of the governor with the Joker, Batman’s arch-enemy. 

In one of his posts, Musk wrote, “The Joker is in charge,” and reaffirmed his previous stance that the law would stifle creativity and satire. He reposted the very video that prompted the legislation, a deepfake video of Vice President Kamala Harris, which he had shared in July. The video showed Harris in a way that raised doubt about her ability to be a president. 

Musk’s criticism does not stop at the Harris video. He also said that a new law effectively outlaws memes, which he reiterated by writing , “You’re not gonna believe this, but Gavin Newsom just announced that he signed a LAW to make parody illegal based on this video.”

California implements immediate ban on election-related deepfakes

Newsom’s law is among the new measures to limit AI in the dissemination of fake political information ahead of the 2024 US election. The new law will come into force immediately and will ban deepfakes including those generated by AI during the election time, 120 days before an election, and 60 days after.

Musk noted the tension between owning a free speech application and the laws of California. In response to the user who said that X relocated from California because of free speech problems, Musk said, “It is hard to be a free speech platform in the state that wants to outlaw free speech.” 

Although X has been branded as a free speech platform, it has been accused of having a poor approach to moderation. Some have alleged that Musk has been using his power at X to advance certain views, among them that of the former US president, Donald Trump. 

California’s actions may provide a model that other states might follow to regulate AI use in political campaigns.  Recently, some members of Congress have submitted several bills that would enable the FEC to regulate AI political communication.