What do the laws say?The two laws are incredibly vague, leaving the door open to potentially widespread censorship when the government dislikes what people say.
In the name of curtailing disinformation, the first law bans “materially deceptive content”—digitally altered media depicting candidates saying or doing something they didn’t if it could potentially harm their “electoral prospects.”
It bans posting and reposting this content online.
The standards for what speech would violate the law are blurry at best.
In practice, it could mean that a California politician who doesn’t like how a post depicts them could sue a private citizen for posting or reposting it. Or someone’s neighbor in California who has opposing political views could see a post they disagree with and sue the poster, forcing them to take down the post and pay damages and attorneys’ fees.
In an already hyperpolarized political environment, this is a chilling prospect.
Humor is also targeted. Satire and parody posts must have disclaimers to say that they are jokes—which kills the joke.
The second law targets internet platforms like X and Facebook, requiring them to sometimes label and other times take down posts with “materially deceptive content” about candidates and elections.
Global censorship is on the riseThis isn’t the first instance of government censorship we’ve seen in the US—and it likely won’t be the last.
Censorship is on the rise around the globe.
The Middle East. China. And even in so-called “progressive” countries in Europe.
If this law in California goes unchecked, we could see this same kind of authoritarian censorship reach our shores. It sets up an environment where people who criticize government officials can be punished and their speech censored from public discourse.
Vague laws that censor political speech under the guise of combating “misinformation” or protecting “public safety” are a direct threat to our rights. It enables people in power to become the arbiters of truth.
The government shouldn’t be allowed to quiet certain voices just because it disagrees with what they have to say. That’s not freedom.
We’re taking action to challenge these unconstitutional laws in California and censorship around the world—but support from friends like you is needed to keep up this work. Will you step up with a gift right now to help stop these threats to our God-given rights? | 
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