The state of California has agreed not to apply its new censorship law against The Babylon Bee in an important victory for free speech.
On September 17, 2024, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills (AB 2839 and AB 2655) into law that purport to regulate “materially deceptive content” during election periods. According to the California Family Council, these laws “target posts that could harm a candidate’s electoral chances.”
Critics say these laws were “written with vague language and broad terms,” and “give the state excessive power to silence political memes, satire, and other forms of online expression that humorously critique politicians.”
After Gov. Newsom signed the bills, Vice President of California Family Council Greg Burt said the laws “don’t just silence humor; they are a thinly veiled attempt to stifle political dissent.”
As a result, The Babylon Bee and California attorney Kelly Chang Rickert, who argues the laws threaten her personal blog and social media accounts, filed a lawsuit to prevent enforcement of the laws. Alliance Defending Freedom represented them in court.
On October 22, 2024, the parties agreed to dismiss the case, with California agreeing not to enforce the law against The Babylon Bee and Rickert.
This comes after a federal judge ruled on October 2 that one of the laws – AB 2839 – likely violates the First Amendment.
“Our job is hard enough when our jokes keep coming true, as if they were prophecies,” said The Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon.
Jonathan Scruggs, Alliance Defending Freedom’s Vice President of Litigation Strategy and Center for Conscience Initiatives, said in a statement, “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.” He added,
As election day approaches, we can all be grateful that the Founding Fathers rightly protected our right to free speech in the First Amendment.
“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government,” observed Benjamin Frankin, one of our nation’s Founding Fathers, in a piece for The Pennsylvania Gazette. “An evil magistrate intrusted [sic] with power to punish for words, would be armed with a weapon the most destructive and terrible. Under pretence [sic] of pruning off the exuberant branches, he would be apt to destroy the tree.”
It’s incumbent upon all citizens to make sure their elected officials respect the right to free speech, even if their representatives don’t like things that are said about them.
The case is The Babylon Bee v. Bonta.
Focus on the Family President Jim Daly has interviewed Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, about how Christians can engage the culture without compromise while using humor as a tool to challenge bad ideas. You can listen to “Babylon Bee’s Seth Dillon on Engaging the Culture with Humor.”
Related articles and resources:
How the Boldness of ‘The Babylon Bee’ Helped Save Free Speech
Babylon Bee Makes Triumphant Return to Twitter After Elon Musk Agrees to #FreeTheBee
How the Boldness of ‘The Babylon Bee’ Helped Save Free Speech
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