WATCH: Gov. Gavin Newsom Doesn't Rule Out Legal Action Against Elon Musk Over AI-Generated Content

On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) refused to rule out legal action against X owner Elon Musk after the California Democrat signed legislation banning "election communications that contain materially deceptive content." The legislation aims to combat fake political ads generated by artificial intelligence and other AI-generated content meant to mislead the public about elections.

"I just signed a bill to make this illegal in the state of California," Gov. Newsom said after signing the legislation. "You can no longer knowingly distribute an ad or other election communications that contain materially deceptive content -- including deepfakes." The California governor argued that the legislation, which is being challenged in court, is "about protecting democracy, ensuring that Californians get the truth, not manipulated fabrications that could sway how people vote."

An individual who created AI-generated content of Vice President Kamala Harris sued the state following Gov. Newsom's decision to sign the legislation. The lawsuit argues that the new law infringes on the First Amendment because it is too broad and could be used to censor Americans' speech. The man's attorney, Theodore Frank, explained that the law could be used to "censor and harass people," according to Newsweek.

Billionaire Elon Musk highlighted the legislation in a post on X on Wednesday, writing with an AI-generated video attached, "The governor of California just made this parody video illegal in violation of the Constitution of the United States."

"You're not going to believe this, but [Gavin Newsom] just announced that he signed a LAW to make parody illegal, based on this video," Musk added. In response to the SpaceX owner sharing the video, Newsom didn't rule out legal action and explained that Musk "missed the punch line."

"Parody is still alive and well in California. But deepfakes and manipulation of elections hurts democracy and the integrity of the system and trust. And we believe in truth and trust, and we believe this law is sound and will be upheld in the courts," Newsom said, adding that "many can seek injunction relief."

Legislation to curtail so-called "disinformation" and "misinformation" poses a serious threat to First Amendment rights. If lawmakers and law enforcement officials in Sacramento abuse this legislation, it could be devastating to freedom of speech online and lead to subjective enforcement against members of one political party.

WATCH:

BREAKING: Governor Newsom refuses to rule out legal action on Elon Musk over AI memes pic.twitter.com/22JjlVU7yL

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