09/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/11/2024 13:04
OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today sent a letter to executives at eight of the largest social media and artificial intelligence (AI) companies, reminding them that existing California laws prohibit certain types of voter intimidation, deception, and dissuasion, and that those laws may apply to content posted on social media platforms and content generated by AI. Addressed to Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms, Inc., Microsoft, Inc., Open AI, Inc., Reddit Inc., TikTok Inc., X Corp., and YouTube, Inc., the letter expresses concern over the continuing spread of false and misleading information on social media platforms as well as users' enhanced capabilities to create deceptive content due to improvements in generative AI.
"The California Department of Justice is charged with protecting the rights of our residents. This is a responsibility I take seriously," said Attorney General Bonta. "That is why I am urging social media and AI companies to understand existing California laws and address the deception that our voters are being exposed to when it comes to their constitutional right to vote. Those deceptive activities must be better identified and reported to law enforcement - I am fully committed to working with the companies to that end. We cannot allow bad actors, whether foreign or domestic, to continue to threaten the sanctity of our democracy."
In the letter, Attorney General Bonta underscores that:
Attorney General Bonta is committed to protecting the right to vote. On July 26, 2024, he filed a lawsuit against Fresno County challenging its recently passed initiative, Measure A, which amended the county's charter to move elections for district attorney and sheriff away from the presidential cycle to the gubernatorial cycle. On April 30, 2024, he joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general in an amicus brief in support of Delaware's election officials, who were defending a challenge to Delaware's early voting law in Albence v. Mennella. On April 15, 2024, he filed a lawsuit against the city of Huntington Beach challenging its voter identification law, Measure A, which amended the city's charter to purportedly allow the city to impose voter ID requirements at the polls for all municipal elections starting in 2026. On February 5, 2024, he joined a coalition of 51 bipartisan attorneys general in issuing a warning letter to a company that allegedly sent New Hampshire residents scam election robocalls during the New Hampshire primary election. On December 7, 2023, he joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs challenging Mississippi's constitutional provisions that permanently disenfranchise persons convicted of certain felony offenses.
A copy of the letter can be found here.