September 20, 2024

New from the Institute for Free Speech

Comments to the FEC on Proposed A.I. Rulemaking

.....On September 19, 2024, the Institute for Free Speech submitted comments to the Federal Election Commission to express opposition to the proposed rulemaking “Disclosure and Transparency of Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content in Political Advertisements, Docket No. 24-211.”

Read a PDF of the comments here.

The Courts

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Judge rejects challenge to law that allows Kemp and others to raise unlimited campaign cash

By David Wickert

.....A federal judge has rejected a Democratic challenge to a Georgia law that allows Gov. Brian Kemp and a few other Georgia politicians to raise unlimited campaign cash.

The Democratic Party of Georgia had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent the state from enforcing the law that created “leadership committees” that allow the governor and a few other Georgia officials to skirt campaign contribution limits that apply to other candidates.

But on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen rejected the Democrats’ request, saying the party had not demonstrated it had standing to sue the governor.

Congress

Spectrum News: House GOP passes 'End Woke' universities bill; some warn it could undermine efforts to protect Jewish students

By Kevin Frey

.....House Republicans in Washington passed legislation Thursday aimed, they say, at protecting free speech on college campuses. 

But some lawmakers and university advocates warn it could end up undermining efforts to protect Jewish students from hate speech. 

The “End Woke Higher Education Act” passed the House 213-201, with widespread Republican support and the backing of four Democrats. The vote comes as Republicans have sought to fight what they argue are restrictions on conservative thought at universities across the country.

Daily Caller: House Committee Calls On Five States To Probe ‘Potential Criminal Activity’ Involving ActBlue Donations

By Ireland Owens

.....Republican Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil on Wednesday called on five states to launch probes into ActBlue, a well-known Democratic fundraising platform, over ‘potential criminal activity.’

Steil, chairman of the House Administration Committee, sent five letters addressed to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. The letters to the attorneys general requested that they probe into ActBlue donations in their respective states based on findings from a committee investigation alleging the organization illegally used people’s identities to channel funds to campaigns.

Wired: US Senate Warns Big Tech to Act Fast Against Election Meddling

By Dell Cameron

.....Top officials from Google, Apple, and Meta testified Wednesday before the United States Senate Intelligence Committee about each of their company’s ongoing efforts to identify and disrupt foreign influence campaigns ahead of the country’s November elections.

The hearing, chaired by Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, served largely to impress upon the companies the need for more extensive safeguards against the disinformation campaigns being funded by foreign entities with an eye on influencing US politics.

“This is really our effort to try to urge you guys to do more. To alert the public that this has not gone away,” Warner said.

FEC

The Hill: FEC forgoes new AI rulemaking ahead of election

By Taylor Giorno

.....A bipartisan cohort of commissioners on the government’s campaign finance agency voted Thursday to forgo new rulemaking on artificial intelligence (AI), citing a lack of authority to limit or prohibit the use of the developing technology in federal elections.

The nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen had asked the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in May 2023 to revise the existing ban on the fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority to make clear that it prohibits deliberately deceptive campaign ads that use AI.

The FEC voted 5-1 to approve a compromise crafted by Democratic Commissioners Dara Lindenbaum and Shana Broussard and Republican Commissioners Trey Trainor and Allen Dickerson, which instead issues an interpretive rule clarifying that AI falls under existing regulations barring fraudulent misrepresentation.



Related:

STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONERS DARA LINDENBAUM AND

SHANA M. BROUSSARD ON INTERPRETIVE RULE REGARDING 52 U.S.C. § 30124

CONCURRING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN SEAN J. COOKSEY

ON NOTIFICATION OF DISPOSITION OF REG 2023-02: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN CAMPAIGN ADS

Free Expression

Wall Street Journal: Hillary Clinton’s New Speech Code

By The Editorial Board

.....Mrs. Clinton on Monday went on MSNBC with Rachel Maddow, the hothouse for false information about the Russia collusion narrative, to indict all and sundry she disagrees with. “It’s important to indict the Russians, just as [Robert] Mueller indicted a lot of Russians who were engaged in direct election interference and boosting Trump back in 2016,” Mrs. Clinton said…

Note that Mrs. Clinton is worried about speech she thinks helps Donald Trump. But would her speech standard also apply to the 51 former U.S. intelligence officials who claimed in 2020 that the Hunter Biden laptop story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation”? They were spreading disinformation because the laptop and its contents were real and had belonged to Hunter.

Adversaries are trying to meddle in U.S. elections, but their effort is almost always overwhelmed by our raucous homegrown debate. The main goal of these meddlers is to sow doubt among Americans about our political system, and Mrs. Clinton is helping to amplify that doubt. Throwing the First Amendment out in the bargain compounds the damage.

Candidates and Campaigns

New York Times: Legal Watchdog Group Warns Pro-Trump Lawyers Against Subverting Democracy in November

By Alan Feuer

.....Now, one of these groups — the 65 Project — is taking a more proactive approach. Starting on Thursday, the group’s organizers are planning to run advertisements in legal journals published in swing states, reminding lawyers that they are ethically barred from bringing false claims on behalf of any client.

“Don’t risk your law license by joining an effort to subvert democracy,” one of the ads says. “We — and the public — are watching.”

The ads, which are initially set to appear in both print and online in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, will be coming out just as Republicans and Democrats alike are gearing up for what could be an exceptionally bitter legal fight over the election.

The States

Washington Post: Kentucky governor bans conversion therapy, setting up legal battle

By María Luisa Paúl

.....Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Wednesday signed an executive order banning “conversion therapy” for minors — skirting the Republican-led state legislature and setting up a likely legal challenge.

Beshear said the new policy, which goes into effect immediately, is an overdue step to protect children from a widely discredited medical practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity…

[Attorney Chris] Wiest said there could be potential federal challenges to the ban — for example, a claim of First Amendment rights violations — but noted that those would be likely to fail.