From: atropos@mac.com   
      
   https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/hawaiis-deepfake-electi   
   n-law-violates-free-speech-court-finds   
      
   Conservative satirical news publication The Babylon Bee LLC won a court order   
   Friday striking down Hawaii's law regulating AI deepfakes during elections as   
   an unconstitutional violation of the 1st Amendment.   
      
   The Hawaii law, Act 191, is "presumptively invalid" because it discriminates   
   based on content and speaker, "and, in doing so, restricts constitutionally   
   protected political speech," Judge Shanlyn A.S. Park wrote in the order. The   
   judge, a Joe Biden appointee for the US District Court for the District of   
   Hawaii, entered a permanent injunction prohibiting the state from enforcing   
   Act 191, which was signed into law in 2024.   
      
   The Hawaii Attorney General's Office, which is defending the law in court,   
   said the department is reviewing the decision and declined to provide any   
   further comment.   
      
   "The court is right to put a stop to Hawaii's war against political memes and   
   satire," The Babylon Bee's attorney Mathew Hoffmann of Alliance Defending   
   Freedom said in a statement. "The 1st Amendment doesn't allow Hawaii to choose   
   what political speech is acceptable."   
      
   The law follows a number of similar attempts by states to regulate the   
   proliferation of AI-generated deepfakes, which can deceptively depict people   
   saying or doing things that did not occur. Act 191 prohibits anyone from   
   "recklessly distributing any materially deceptive media" involving candidates   
   for office and elected officials during election season, from February to   
   November. Violators can face criminal charges.   
      
   The law has a safe harbor provision when using a disclaimer on the deepfake   
   content that meets certain specifications, and has carve-outs for   
   broadcasters, cable operations, and other service providers.   
      
   The Babylon Bee and a Hawaii resident sued to block the law last June, arguing   
   it violated the 1st and 14th Amendments punishing political satire websites   
   that seek to use deepfakes. The satire publication succeeded in blocking a   
   similar anti-deepfake law in California.   
      
   The law fundamentally "regulates speech based on its subject matter" because   
   it applies to communication relating to electoral candidates and topics that   
   may appear as a question on the ballot, Park's ruling said. And the law isn’t   
   saved by any of the historical exceptions the the 1st Amendment, like fraud or   
   defamation, Park said, because it prohibits speech that has a "risk of harming   
   an election official or candidate".   
      
   The judge said the law also violates the 14th Amendment because it's   
   unconstitutionally vague, setting up "an inherently subjective assessment for   
   enforcement agencies".   
      
   Alliance Defending Freedom represents The Babylon Bee.   
      
   The case is The Babylon Bee LLC v. Lopez, D. Haw., No. 1:25-cv-00234,   
   1/30/26.   
      
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