The Babylon Bee has won a federal court case challenging a state law that would have criminalized certain political memes, parody videos, and satirical content about political candidates.
The law made it a crime to distribute what lawmakers described as “materially deceptive media” related to elections. The statute covered memes, AI-generated images, parody, and other forms of political satire, and included criminal penalties.
The Babylon Bee filed a lawsuit arguing the measure violated the First Amendment.
On Jan. 30, just days before the law was set to take effect, US District Judge Shanlyn Park issued a permanent injunction blocking enforcement of the law. In her ruling, the judge found the statute “presumptively invalid” because it discriminated based on content and restricted constitutionally protected political speech.
“Political speech, of course, is at the core of what the First Amendment is designed to protect,” Judge Park wrote.
The ruling permanently prevents the law from being enforced.
Which ‘threatened’ legislative body thought that was a good idea? You would think that this result would have been obvious given the express protections of our constitution and its caselaw progeny.
Totally agree, Pat. It’s as though an intern wrote it.
Totally agree, Pat. It’s as though ani tern wrote it.
Not up to your usual excellent quality. There is not one reference to which state or which law was involved.
You probably should mention within the article that the Babylon Bee was suing the state of California.