by Luke Sprinkel
State Rep. Mary Franson of Alexandria has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to repeal a Minnesota law that could criminalize the sharing of AI-generated election memes.
In 2023, Minnesota Democrats and Republicans passed legislation that would HF 1370Which adjustable AI-generated content in Minnesota.
One part of the bill prohibits Minnesotans from sharing AI-generated false information that is intended to “influence the outcome of an election” if the false information is shared within 90 days of an election and made without the consent of the featured political candidate.
This provision is now codified in state law as the Minnesota Statute 607.771allows the government to fine or jail people in Minnesota who share AI-generated election memes, videos or parody content in certain situations.
The electoral law was in force at the beginning of this year updated extending the period during which sharing election-related deepfakes is prohibited. The 2024 update also added tougher penalties that include forcing a political candidate who breaks this law to resign from nomination for the office for which he or she is running.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom recently approved a similar law that prohibits the sharing of AI-generated content depicting politicians engaging in speech or behavior in which they were not actually engaged. Judge on Wednesday given a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed against the California law, which said the state did not have a “license to destroy a long-standing tradition of criticism, parody and satire protected by the First Amendment.”
Free speech advocates have strongly condemned bans on AI-generated political content as an attempt to silence dissent, criminalize criticism of elected officials, outlaw parody and crush Americans’ First Amendment rights.
As a result, Franson, a Republican, has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Minnesota’s ban on AI-generated political content intended to influence elections. Joining Franson in the lawsuit is Christopher Kohl, an out-of-state internet content creator.
Both are represented by two nonprofit public interest law firms: Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) and the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute (HLLI). Franson and Kohl argue that the bogus election bill “violates the First Amendment right to political speech.”
A few months ago, Kohl posted a parody video in which he ridiculed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential candidacy. This video was created using technology generated by artificial intelligence. Rep. Franson later retweeted a social media post containing the video.
Under current law, simply retweeting a funny parody video generated by artificial intelligence can result in disqualification from office, fines and imprisonment.
“With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, some laws are poorly written, which could completely disqualify legislators or candidates from voting simply for sharing a meme or other piece of political content,” Rep. Franson told Alpha News. “This represents a dramatic overreach that goes further than any other law in the country and must be challenged in court.”
UMLC’s press release about the lawsuit said Kohl “monetizes her content and Republican Franson communicates with her constituents and party members on social media. They both hope to continue posting and sharing political videos and memes online, including those created in part using artificial intelligence.”
While Franson (pictured above) tries to overturn the Fraudulent Elections Act, GOP Rep he voted earlier on the original bill, HF 1370, which gave legal effect to this statute.
Like many other pieces of legislation, HF 1370 contained many provisions. One of the provisions was a ban on sharing false AI-generated content intended to influence elections, and the other was a common-sense ban on sharing phony pornography. The phony porn ban prohibits people from sharing videos or images manipulated using artificial intelligence technology to show people engaging in sexual activity.
Rep. Franson told Alpha News she voted for HF 1370 because of its ban on phony porn.
“While I had concerns about the policy portions of HF 1370, the bill included restrictions on artificial intelligence/deep-fake porn that had broad bipartisan support,” said Rep. Franson. “Protecting women from non-consensual fake pornography outweighed my concerns about the political part of the bill. I would prefer to see these bills presented separately.”
Rep. Franson’s lawsuit seeks only to repeal the law regarding AI-generated political content intended to influence elections; her lawsuit will not alter or in any way affect the current ban on the distribution of phony AI-generated pornography.
HF 1370 passed in the Minnesota House unanimously. In the Minnesota Senate, only one senator voted against the bill. Governor Tim Walz signed the bill into law on May 26, 2023.
“It is unfortunate that Democrats have coupled a sweeping bipartisan ban on fake pornography with such a poorly written bill,” said Rep. Franson. “I am proud to work with the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute and the Upper Midwest Law Center to ensure this bill receives the legal scrutiny it deserves.”
The 2024 amendment to the Deepfake Elections Act, which increased penalties for violating the law, was included in omnibus election bill it was delivered along party lines; Democrats supported the update, Republicans did not.
– – –
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a legislative assistant in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a missionary child (MK), living in England, Thailand, Tanzania and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
