The satire site The Babylon Bee and video platform Rumble are suing the state of California over two laws designed to censor political satire and memes during election seasons.
A federal court hearing was held Tuesday in Sacramento to determine whether the laws will be permanently blocked. The hearing follows a previous temporary injunction issued by a judge. A final decision is expected in the coming weeks, according to The Daily Wire.
The lawsuit, filed last September, also includes California attorney and blogger Kelly Chang Rickert as a plaintiff. It came shortly after Governor Gavin Newsom signed two controversial laws, which prohibit pictures and videos “likely to harm” a candidate’s “electoral prospects” during election season.
One law requires disclaimers to accompany satire posts, while the other mandates that social media platforms label or remove content deemed “materially deceptive” about candidates or elected officials. Penalties for violating the laws include fines.
The plaintiffs are represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, which argues the laws are built on “vague standards” and are unconstitutional.
“Anytime the government is saying that you can’t on your own social media account distribute things online or repost what other people put online because the government determines that is false, that should really strike fear and it’s really a road to censorship in the political sphere,” said Jonathan Scruggs, senior counsel at ADF, per The Daily Wire.
In addition to the California case, The Babylon Bee has filed a separate lawsuit challenging a similar law in Hawaii.
“It’s something that tracks what more authoritarian regimes are doing across the world,” Scruggs said. “What you see in this arena is the government using the label misinformation or disinformation to regulate what people can say online about politics. And that’s really an anathema to the First Amendment.”
