August 29, 2025 summary judgment held AB 2839 unconstitutional in its entirety. The permanent injunction prohibits enforcement by the defendants against the named plaintiffs.
California Election Deepfake Law (AB 2839)
BadLawCalifornia AB 2839
California, United StatesHigh threat
California, United StatesHigh threatHeld unconstitutional; permanent injunction protects named plaintiffs
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- Became Law
Stage 4 of 4: Became Law
California’s election-deepfake restrictions were held unconstitutional in August 2025; the permanent injunction bars enforcement against the named plaintiffs.
Latest update
Held unconstitutional; permanent injunction entered protecting named plaintiffs in Kohls v. Bonta
What it does
AB 2839 restricts materially deceptive election media and imposes disclosure requirements, with civil remedies for violations. On August 29, 2025, the district court held the law unconstitutional in its entirety and permanently barred the defendant officials from enforcing it against the named plaintiffs. The injunction’s stated scope is plaintiff-specific, not an unrestricted statewide order.
What’s at stake
The law made the government the arbiter of whether political parody and manipulated media were deceptive enough to suppress or label. The permanent injunction is an important boundary on efforts to regulate election speech through AI-specific rules.
Our take
AB 2839 showed why a parody exception does not rescue a speech-control law. Speakers still had to satisfy government rules before publishing political expression, and a court ultimately found the scheme discriminated by content, viewpoint, and speaker.
Timeline
Held unconstitutional; permanent injunction entered protecting named plaintiffs in Kohls v. BontaLatest
Preliminarily enjoined by federal court
Signed by Governor Newsom
Introduced in the Assembly
Sponsor
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin
Legal challenges
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