Gavin Newsom continued his feud with Elon Musk on Thursday, threatening to sue the Tesla CEO over his use of memes and deepfakes that he says “harm democracy.”
Musk accused Newsom of outlawing parody after the governor signed three bills to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence to create fake images in political videos and ads.
Newsom denied the idea he was curbing the parodies but attempted to lay down the law to the X CEO, whom he referred to as a “conservative blogger.”
“I think Mr. Musk has misunderstood the key phrase: parody is still in effect in California, but falsifications and election manipulation? That damages democracy, the integrity of the system and trust, and we believe in truth and trust, and we believe that this law is solid and will be upheld in court.”
Asked whether he would take legal action against Musk or other conservatives, he seemed unwilling to rule anything out.
Gavin Newsom continued his feud with Elon Musk on Thursday, threatening to sue the Tesla CEO over his use of memes and deepfakes that he says “harm democracy.”
“The law provides that anyone can seek injunctive relief. I just signed the law and have not had a chance to review any specific lawsuit involving a conservative blogger,” in an apparent reference to Musk.
A video of Newsom stating the possibility of legal action against Musk reached the SpaceX boss, who simply responded on social media: “Unbelievable.”
Newsom on Tuesday signed the nation’s strictest law banning political “deepfakes,” making good on his July pledge to make digital manipulation of election content illegal.
This comes after Newsom publicly rebuked X owner Elon Musk for sharing a post featuring doctored images of Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The new law, which goes into effect immediately, makes it illegal to create and publish election-related deepfakes 120 days before Election Day and 60 days after.
It also allows courts to stop distribution of the materials and impose civil penalties.
“Protecting the integrity of elections is essential to democracy, and ensuring that AI is not used to undermine public trust through misinformation is critical, especially in today’s tense political climate,” Newsom said in a statement.
‘These measures will help combat the harmful use of deepfakes in political ads and other content, one of several areas where the state is being proactive to foster transparent and trustworthy AI.’
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed into law the nation’s strictest law banning digitally altered political “deepfakes.”
He took to X to share the update, fulfilling a promise he made in July.
Elon Musk claimed Newsom was “making parody illegal” with his decision
On July 29, Newsom took to X, formerly Twitter, and vowed: “Manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this should be illegal. I’ll be signing a bill into law in a matter of weeks to make sure it is.”
He shared the update yesterday, saying: ‘I just signed a bill to make this illegal in the state of California.
‘You may no longer knowingly distribute an advertisement or other election communications that contain materially misleading content, including deepfakes.’
But Elon Musk hit back at the governor, posting a message on the platform that read: “You won’t believe this, but @GavinNewsom just announced he signed a LAW to make parody illegal, based on this video,” alongside two laughing emojis.
The video in question was Kamala Harris’s altered campaign ad: a deepfake video that uses a manipulation of Harris’s voice.
Musk also shared a post saying: “They are REALLY trying to make posting memes illegal. Vote them away,” referring to the UK Labour Party and the US Democrats.
Major social media platforms will be required to remove misleading material under a first-of-its-kind law due to be enacted next year.
But Newsom also signed a bill requiring political campaigns to publicly disclose whether they are running ads with AI-altered materials.
The governor signed the bills to loud applause during a conversation with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at an event hosted by the major software company during its annual conference in San Francisco.
The new laws reinforce California’s position as a leader in AI regulation in the US, especially in the fight against election fraud.
The state was the first in the United States to ban manipulated videos and images related to the 2019 election.
Technology and artificial intelligence measures proposed by California lawmakers have been used as models for policymakers across the country, industry experts said.
As artificial intelligence has heightened the threat of election misinformation around the world, lawmakers across the country have rushed to address the problem out of fear that manipulated materials could erode public trust in what they see and hear.
“With less than 50 days until the general election, there is an urgent need to protect against misleading and digitally altered content that could interfere with elections,” Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin, who authored the bill banning election fraud, said in a statement.
‘California is taking a stand against the manipulative use of deepfake technology to mislead voters.’
California’s new laws come on the same day that members of Congress unveiled federal legislation aimed at stopping election fraud.
The bill would give the Federal Election Commission the power to regulate the use of AI in elections in the same way it has regulated other forms of political misrepresentation for decades.
The FEC has begun considering such regulations after banning artificial intelligence-generated robocalls aimed at discouraging voters in February.
Newsom has touted California as an early adopter of AI and a regulator, saying the state could soon deploy generative AI tools to address road congestion and provide fiscal guidance, even as his administration considers new rules against AI discrimination in hiring practices.
He also signed two other bills on Tuesday to protect Hollywood performers from unauthorized use of AI without their consent.
Following Musk’s public criticism of Newsom’s decision, concerns have been raised about the impact it could have on the US election.
Hours after an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump over the weekend, Musk took to his social media platform X to post a thinking emoji and a comment that “nobody is even trying to assassinate” the Democratic president and vice president.
Donald Trump praised Musk during an event at X on Monday night, basking in the tech billionaire’s support and referring to him as his “friend.”
Amid anti-Muslim riots in the UK (which were fueled by a false rumor), Musk declared that “civil war is inevitable” in the country.
And when an anonymous X user distorted data to claim a surge in dubious voter registrations in three US states, Musk amplified the false post, calling it “extremely concerning.”
The three posts sparked a swift backlash from public officials who called Musk’s remarks irresponsible and misleading.
As his words rack up millions of views and thousands of shares, they also illustrate the ability of one of the world’s most influential people to spread fear, hate and misinformation during tense political moments around the world.
This is especially true because he owns the social platform that used to be Twitter, giving Musk the authority to shape how his content reaches users.
Musk’s inaccurate posts to his 200 million followers, coupled with a lack of security measures on his site, are raising concerns about how he could manipulate public trust as US Election Day approaches.
He recently endorsed Trump’s presidential bid and has become more personally involved in politics, even agreeing to lead a government efficiency commission if Trump wins re-election.
Trump praised Musk during an event Monday night, basking in the tech billionaire’s endorsement and referring to him as his “friend.”
At the very least, election experts and officials fear Musk could influence people to question the legitimacy of the vote.
But they are also concerned that their words could inspire threats and violence against election workers or candidates.
“X and Musk are dangerously and irresponsibly raising the temperature of politics at a critical moment,” said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.
“It’s shameful.”