Legal Battle Over Deepfake Legislation
X Corp., owned by Elon Musk, filed a lawsuit against Minnesota, arguing the state's ban on deepfakes infringes on First Amendment rights and is overly vague, potentially leading to censorship of political speech.
The Minnesota law, effective from 2023, criminalizes the dissemination of deepfake content with the intent to harm a candidate or influence an election, imposing severe penalties within 90 days of an election.
Political and Public Responses
Critics, including Democratic state Sen. Erin Maye Quade and Attorney General Keith Ellison, argue the lawsuit is a misuse of resources, defending the law as necessary for protecting electoral integrity against deepfakes.
The law has faced previous challenges, with content creators and GOP state Rep. Mary Franson attempting to overturn its restrictions on AI-generated parodies, highlighting the law's impact on free speech and satire.