[SkyBelow]

>Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 730, which makes it a crime to distribute audio or video that gives a false, damaging impression of a politician’s words or actions. The law applies to any candidate within 60 days of an election, but includes some exceptions. News media will be exempt from the requirement, as will videos made for satire or parody. Potentially deceptive video or audio will also be allowed if it includes a disclaimer noting that it’s fake. The law will sunset in 2023.

I don't see how they expect this to get past the courts.

[jfengel]

It hardly matters. Even if the courts upheld it, it will be difficult to find the perpetrators, who could easily be in another country. And even if you manage to pin it on a political party or action group, the fine will be far, far smaller than the (perceived) gain at the polls.

Fines of $100,000 are trivial[1] on this scale -- and most fines are smaller than that. Even then, many just fail to pay them[2].

It's hard to know how much these things actually move the polls. But politics is both a game of inches and a game of winner-take-all: even a tiny nudge that puts you over the bar has enormous payoffs worth literally billions. So even if the courts managed to uphold this, nobody who would resort to this technique would be affected.

[1] https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190913/fec-fines-ohio-gop-10...

[2] https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/30/scofflaw-...