A new law proposed in the Maryland legislature would impinge on the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech, and result in potential fines and jail sentences of up to 5 years for posting "deepfake," AI-created, or otherwise-altered media featuring candidates during elections. The text of MD House Bill 525 does not even distinguish between official posts or advertising by political campaigns against opponents, and social media posts by individuals. As currently written, the law would expose all citizens to a threat of fines up to $5000, and jail terms of up to 5 years.
Censorship on social media was a significant issue in the 2024 election. It's surprising that the sponsors of this bill believe this is an opportune time to propose new restrictions on freedom of speech. The vague and broad language in the bill would have a chilling effect on negative political speech, and is clearly unconstitutional. If passed during the current legislative session, the new law would take effect on June 1, 2025.
Unfortunately this is a slippery slope, once you start banning some free speech, you can easily continue.
ReplyDeleteDemocrats love censorship.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me this is sarcasm.
DeleteI thought this was America
ReplyDeleteThis is America. We're else in the world can a man with 5 Kids, 3 baby’s mamas, lives in government housing, and has multiple felony convictions be worshipped
ReplyDeleteWho are you referring to, that could be multiple rap artists. 😌
DeleteAnd you pay for it
DeleteRIP free speech
ReplyDeletePeople’s Republic of Maryland. SMH.
ReplyDeleteHey @RobertDyer, whatever happened to sticking to just the facts? You can report the story without the editorial comments, right? Isn't there enough bias in the news already?
ReplyDeleteDaniel, I don't really see much editorializing in the article. Every sentence is a statement of fact, based on the text of the bill.
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