Babylon Bee files suit against humorless California censorship laws

LOS ANGELES – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing The Babylon Bee and Kelly Chang Rickert, a California attorney, filed a complaint Monday challenging two California laws that censor online content, including political satire and parody. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed the laws that censor freedom of speech by using vague standards to punish people for posting certain political content online, including political memes and parodies of politicians.

The two laws apply around election time to censor speech through subjective standards like prohibiting pictures and videos “likely to harm” a candidate’s “electoral prospects.” AB 2839 and AB 2655 apply to any person or entity who distributes “materially deceptive content” about candidates, elected officials, and other election material. AB 2839 even forces speakers to include a disclaimer when posting satire, defeating the point of satire. AB 2655 applies to large online platforms and requires them to sometimes label, and other times remove, posts with “materially deceptive content.” Penalties for violating the laws include significant attorneys’ fees, costs, and damages. The suit explains that the laws interfere with The Babylon Bee’s and Rickert’s freedom of speech, as protected by the First Amendment.

“California’s war against political memes is censorship, plain and simple. We shouldn’t trust the government to decide what is true in our online political debates,” said ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategy and Center for Conscience Initiatives Jonathan Scruggs. “Gov. Newsom has no constitutional authority to act as the humor police. While lawmakers act as if posting and resharing memes is a threat to democracy, these laws at the end of the day censor speech California politicians don’t like. We are urging the court to affirm that the First Amendment protects The Babylon Bee’s and Ms. Rickert’s freedom to poke fun at political leaders.”

“Our job is hard enough when our jokes keep coming true, as if they were prophecies,” said Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon. “But it becomes significantly more difficult when self-serving politicians abuse their power to try and control public discourse and clamp down on comedy. Unfortunately for them, the First Amendment secures our right to tell jokes they don't like.”

“My personal blog and social media accounts don’t need Newsom’s stamp of approval,” added Rickert. “This attempt to silence humor and other content that appeals to me and my audience is a blatant use of power to silence dissent.”

In July, Newsom responded to a parody video of Vice President Kamala Harris saying the video “should be illegal,” and the California Legislature responded by fast-tracking the bills, which the governor signed into law on Sept. 17.

The lawsuit notes that, despite the substantial risk of harm imposed by the laws, The Babylon Bee continues to post satirical or parodical content and is unwilling to include the disclaimer required by one of the laws. In contrast, Rickert is unwilling to include the disclaimer but is also unwilling to risk punishment by state authorities, so she has refrained from posting certain content she desires to post that may violate the laws. The laws both compel speech with which the Bee and Rickert disagree and chills speech they wish to share. The suit explains that the language in the laws is too vague and gives California officials too much power to police speech they disagree with. The complaint also notes that the California Legislature recognized the constitutional problems of the laws and that they were “almost guaranteed to be the subject of litigation.”

ADF attorneys filed The Babylon Bee v. Bonta with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. David Shaneyfelt of the Alvarez Firm, one of more than 4,800 attorneys in the ADF Attorney Network, is serving as local counsel for The Babylon Bee and Rickert.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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