Federal judge blocks California law banning election deepfakes

Fox News' Eben Brown reports that as election season ramps up, scammers are producing deepfakes that are so sophisticated, they're almost impossible to detect. A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a California bill that outlaws AI-generated "deepfake" content and required the removal of "deceptive content" from social media. The preliminary injunction comes just two weeks after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the controversial measure into law, igniting a spat with X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. It also comes roughly a month before Election Day. A spokesperson for Newsom's office warned that deepfakes "threaten the integrity of our elections, and these new laws protect our democracy while preserving free speech -- in a manner no more stringent than those in other states, including deep-red Alabama."