The bills signed Tuesday marked an effort to preserve the integrity of elections while addressing altered campaign materials that have cropped up on social media.

In a symbolic move, the governor visited the Los Angeles headquarters of performers' union SAG-AFTRA to greenlight the legislation: "We're making sure that no one turns over their name, image and likeness to unscrupulous people without representation.

California now has some of the toughest laws in the United States to crack down on election deepfakes ahead of the 2024 election after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three landmark proposals this week at an artificial intelligence conference in San Francisco.

California is getting a series of new laws that crack down on AI deepfakes in the contexts of elections and entertainment. But the fate of the state’s most momentous AI bill to date is yet to be determined.

The bills signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) come amid concerns over the use of AI in the run-up to the presidential vote and its threat to actors’ livelihoods.

A lawsuit has already been filed against Gov. Gavin Newsom's new bills, claiming the new laws infringe on free speech.

One of the three new laws that Governor Newsom signed allows courts to stop distribution of election-related deepfakes.

The bill has divided Silicon Valley, with support from the likes of Elon Musk, and opposition from OpenAI's Sam Altman.