Musk's X sues to block Minnesota 'deepfake' law over free speech concerns

ElonMusk’ssocial media platform X suedMinnesotaon Wednesdayovera statelawthat bans people from using AI-generated “deepfakes” to influence an election, which the company said violated protections offreespeech.

Thelawreplaces social media platforms’ judgment about the content with the judgment of the state and threatens criminal liability if the platforms get it wrong, according to thelawsuit that was filed inMinnesotafederal court.

“This system will inevitably result in the censorship of wide swaths of valuable politicalspeechand commentary,” X said in its complaint.Muskhas described himself as afreespeechabsolutist and he did away with Twitter’s content moderation policy when he bought the company in 2022 and renamed it X.

MinnesotaAttorney General Keith Ellison, the named defendant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Minnesota’slawbans the use of deepfakes – videos, pictures or audio clips made with AI to look real – to influence an election. 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 says that AI can be used to manipulate voters.

X asked the federal judge to declare thelawviolated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,Minnesota’s constitution and that it was impermissibly vague. It also wants the judge to find thelawis precluded by what is known as Section 230, a federallawthat protects social media companies from being held liable for content posted by users. The company wants a permanent injunction preventing thelawfrom being enforced.

TheMinnesotalawhas already beenchallengedon similar grounds by a Republican statelawmaker Mary Franson and social media influencer Christopher Kohls. In January, U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino rejected their bid for a preliminary injunction toblockthelaw, which they appealed. Provinzino’s ruling did not address the merits of thelawsuit.