United States of America: District Court Eastern District granted a preliminary injunction against California's AB 2839 aimed at restricting "materially deceptive" AI-generated content during election periods

On 2 October 2024, the United States District Court, Eastern District of California, granted a preliminary injunction against California's AB 2839, a content moderation regulation aimed at restricting "materially deceptive" AI-generated content during election periods. The court determined that the law was not narrowly tailored to meet the state's compelling interest in preserving election integrity and that it failed to use the least restrictive means to achieve its goal. The court emphasised that political speech, including parody and satire, is protected under the First Amendment, and that counter-speech, rather than government restrictions, is the preferred remedy for addressing false or misleading content. The law's requirement for labelling in parody videos was also found to be unduly burdensome, effectively obstructing the content. Consequently, the court granted the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction, enjoining the enforcement of AB 2839, except for a severed portion requiring audio disclosures.