Christian satire site, The Babylon Bee and video sharing website Rumble are both suing Rob Bonta, the Attorney General of California, over a law that they say is tantamount to censorship.
The Babylon Bee also took the state of Hawaii to court in June of this year over a law which penalises portraying a politician in a way that damages their “reputation or electoral prospects”. “Materially deceptive media” is also banned under the law.
Rumble is also considered by some to be something of a free speech champion, often hosting the videos or channels of those who are banned or demonetised on YouTube, or who fear that they will be.
Now they have teamed up to challenge California law AB 2839, which critics argue prohibits certain forms of online political commentary, including memes and parodies. Law AB 2655 is also being challenged on the grounds that it requires large tech companies to act as the government’s enforcers of censorship rules.
Both Rumble and The Babylon Bee are being assisted by legal advocacy group ADF International.
Their Senior Counsel, Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse, said, “AB 2839 and AB 2655 are the most recent iterations of California’s attempt to censor and compel speech it doesn’t like. Courts have already ruled that state officials can’t force social media platforms to say things they don’t want to say.
“Now California is doubling down and trying to regulate the speech of everyday Americans posting satirical content on the internet. Everyone should recognize that this type of censorial power will be abused. That’s why these laws violate the First Amendment.”
Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, also appealed to the First Amendment.
“Our job is hard enough when our jokes keep coming true, as if they were prophecies," he said.
"But it becomes significantly more difficult when self-serving politicians abuse their power to try to control public discourse and clamp down on comedy. Unfortunately for them, the First Amendment secures our right to tell jokes they don’t like.”
