n Wednesday, X sued Minnesota over a state law that bans people from using AI-generated “deepfakes” in order to influence an election, as the company
said that it violated protections of free speech.
In the lawsuit filed in the Minnesota federal court, it was mentioned that the law replaces social media platforms’ judgment about the content with the judgment of the state and threatens criminal liability in the case of the platform not understanding it.
Even more so, in a complaint, X said that “This system will inevitably result in the censorship of wide swaths of valuable political speech and commentary,". Musk also described himself to be a free speech absolutist, and he did work on X’s content moderation policy when the company was rebranded in 2022 from Twitter to X.
Attorney General Keith Ellison, named defended did not immediately respond to the request for comment. Minnesota’s law mentions the ban on using deepfakes, videos, pictures, or audio clips that were made with AI in order for them to look real and influence the election.
It was also mentioned that at least 22 states have enacted some form of prohibition on the use of deepfakes in elections, according to data compiled by Public Citizen, which states that AI can be used for the manipulation of votes, reported Reuters.
X also asked the federal judge to declare that the law violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Minnesota’s constitution, and that it was impermissibly vague. This also wants the judge to find that the law is precluded by what is known as Section 230.
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This stands for a federal law that has the role of protecting social media companies from being held responsible for content posted by users. The social media company is longing for a permanent injection that prevents the law from being enforced.
Even more so, the Minnesota law has also been challenged on similar grounds by a Republican state lawmaker, Mary Franson, and social media influencer Christopher Kohls. However, Laura Provinzino, US District Judge, has rejected their bid for a preliminary injunction in order to block the law, which they appealed.
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