Court sides with The Babylon Bee, blocks Hawaii anti-deepfake law

A federal court has ruled in favor of The Babylon Bee and blocked a Hawaii law that prohibited the creation of AI-generated and deepfake election content.

United States District Judge Shanlyn Park for the District of Hawaii ruled last Friday against Act 191, which barred certain AI-generated content considered “materially deceptive.”

Park wrote that the state law “discriminates based on content and speaker and, in doing so, restricts constitutionally protected political speech” and “facially regulates protected political speech based on its content.”

“Act 191 also discriminates based on speaker,” wrote Park. “Act 191 includes carveouts for broadcasters, cable operators, direct-to-home satellite providers, and other service providers that meet certain criteria.”

“Based on Act 191’s exemption provision, Act 191 imposes different obligations on different speakers depending on who they are and their degree of knowledge and/or separation from the materially deceptive media.”

Park also took issue with the state law’s allowance for deepfake election content provided that the creator include a disclaimer, which she said “constitutes content-based regulation.”

“As Plaintiffs point out, Act 191’s compelled disclaimer would impermissibly alter the content, intended effect, and message of their speech,” Park continued.

“Defendants have failed to use the least restrictive means to combat the purported effects of political deepfakes and generative AI technologies on Hawai‘i elections, or in the alternative, have failed to demonstrate that existing laws are insufficient to deal with those issues.”

In addition to The Babylon Bee, the lawsuit was also brought by social media humorist and Hawaii resident Dawn O’Brien. They were represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom.

ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann, who argued the case before the court, said in a statement released last Friday that the “court is right to put a stop to Hawaii’s war against political memes and satire.”

“For centuries, humor and satire have served as an important vehicle to deliver truth with a smile, and this kind of speech receives the utmost protection under the Constitution,” stated Hoffmann.

“The First Amendment doesn’t allow Hawaii to choose what political speech is acceptable and censor speech in the name of ‘misinformation.’ That censorship is both undemocratic and unnecessary.”

Act 191 was signed into law in 2024 by Hawaii Democratic Gov. Josh Green and was set to take effect on Feb. 2, beginning enforcement during the state’s election season.

Proponents of the state law included Danny de Gracia, a political scientist and ordained minister who penned a column last year arguing that Act 191 “gives responsible citizens a guardrail against our system of government being undermined by lies.”

“Satire and parody are certainly legitimate forms of free expression, but when we get into the realm of making photo-realistic or life-like representations of individuals, the context of how they are used can change everything,” wrote de Gracia.

“… it’s time to stop suggesting that the First Amendment gives us the power to obliterate truth and peddle intrigue. It does not. The founders wanted an enlightened citizenry, not an impassioned mob.”

He went on to note that The Babylon Bee “won’t be seriously inconvenienced by having to use labels on fake images or simulated videos produced by AI,” adding that this “should be something any responsible comedian or publication would want.”