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A2 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 26 april 2025
Elon Musk’s X sues to overturn Minnesota political deepfakes ban

By STEVE KARNOWSKI elections. Minnesota’s law
Associated Press is clear and precise, while
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — X this lawsuit is petty, mis-
Corp., the social media guided and a waste of the
platform owned by Trump Attorney General Office’s
adviser Elon Musk, is chal- time and resources,” her
lenging the constitution- statement said.
ality of a Minnesota ban Democratic Minnesota
on using deepfakes to Attorney General Keith El-
influence elections and lison’s office, which is le-
harm candidates, saying gally obligated to defend
it violates First Amendment the constitutionality of
speech protections. state laws in court, said in
The company’s federal a statement that it’s “re-
lawsuit filed this week also viewing the lawsuit and will
contends that the 2023 respond in the appropriate
state law is preempted by time and manner.”
a 1996 federal statute that The Minnesota law was
shields social media from already the subject of a
being held responsible for constitutional challenge
material posted on their by Christopher Kohls, a
platforms. content creator, and GOP
“While the law’s reference state Rep. Mary Franson,
to banning ‘deep fakes’ Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk walks to the stage to speak at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, who likes to post AI-gen-
might sound benign, in 2024, in Butler, Pa. erated parodies of politi-
reality it would criminal- Associated Press cians. That case is on hold
while they appeal to over-
ize innocuous, election- turn a judge’s denial of
related speech, including their request to suspend
humor, and make social- the law.
media platforms criminally The attorney general’s of-
liable for censoring such fice argues in that case
speech,” the company that deepfakes are a real
said in a statement. “In- and growing threat to free
stead of defending de- elections and democratic
mocracy, this law would institutions, that the law is
erode it.” Minnesota’s law a legitimate and consti-
imposes criminal penal- tutional response to the
ties including jail time for problem, and that it con-
disseminating a deepfake tains important limitations
video, image or audio if a on its scope that protect
person knows it’s fake, or satire and parody.
acts with reckless disregard X, formerly known as Twit-
to its authenticity, either ter, said it’s the only social
within 90 days before a media platform challeng-
party nominating conven- ing the Minnesota law,
tion, or after the start of and that it has also chal-
early voting in a primary or lenged other laws it con-
general election. siders infringements of free
It says the intent must be speech, such as a 2024
to injure a candidate or in- California political deep-
fluence an election result. fakes law that a judge has
And it defines deepfakes blocked. X said in its state-
as material so realistic ment that its “Community
that a reasonable person Notes” feature allows us-
would believe it’s real, and ers to flag content they
generated by artificial in- consider problematic, and
telligence or other techni- that it’s been adopted by
cal means. Facebook, YouTube and
“Elon Musk funneled hun- TikTok. The company’s law-
dreds of millions of dollars suit said its “Authenticity
into the 2024 presiden- Policy” and “Grok AI” tool
tial election and tried to provide additional safe-
buy a Wisconsin Supreme guards. Alan Rozenshtein,
Court seat,” said the law’s a University of Minnesota
author, Democratic state law professor and expert
Sen. Erin Maye Quade. on technology law, said
“Of course he is upset that in an interview Friday that
Minnesota law prevents it’s important to separate
him from spreading deep- the free-speech issues from
fakes that meant to harm whatever one thinks about
candidates and influence the controversial Musk.q