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<\/a><\/h2>\nBOB UNRUH
\nWND.com<\/p>\n
A\u00a0\u201cfake news\u201d ban in California, a proposed law that would make it illegal to share a \u201cfalse\u201d story, has run into headwinds.<\/p>\n
A.B. 1104 was scheduled to be heard in a legislative committee this week, but at the last minute it was pulled from the agenda.<\/p>\n
Word of the change in plans came from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which said, \u201cMemo to California Assemblyman Ed Chau: you can\u2019t fight fake news with a bad law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization said the proposal is \u201ca censorship bill so obviously unconstitutional, we had to double check that it was real.\u201d<\/p>\n
The actual document reads:<\/a> \u201c18320.5. It is unlawful for a person to knowingly and willingly make, publish or circulate on an Internet Web site, or cause to be made, published, or circulated in any writing posted on an Internet Web site, a false or deceptive statement designed to influence the vote on either of the following:<\/p>\n \u201c(a) Any issue submitted to voters at an election.<\/p>\n \u201c(b) Any candidate for election to public office.\u201d<\/p>\n Get the hottest, most important news stories on the Internet \u2013 delivered FREE to your inbox as soon as they break! Take just 30 seconds and sign up for WND\u2019s Email News Alerts!<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n Explained EFF, \u201cIn other words, it would be illegal to be wrong on the Internet if it could impact an election. The bill is unconstitutional under U.S. Supreme Court case law (see our opposition letter for more information on that), and likely to draw immediate and costly lawsuits if it is signed into law.\u201d<\/p>\n But the organization explained that \u201cno law and certainly not A.B. 1104,\u201d will solve the problem of \u201cfake news\u201d that \u201cmany believe plagued the 2016 election.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerican political speech dating back as far as the John Adams-Thomas Jefferson rivalry has involved unfair smears, half and stretched truths, and even outright lies,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n The organization issued a warning about the idea: \u201cThis bill will fuel a chaotic free-for-all of mudslinging with candidates and others being accused of crimes at the slightest hint of hyperbole, exaggeration, poetic license, or common error. While those accusations may not ultimately hold up, politically motivated prosecutions \u2013 or the threat of such \u2013 may harm democracy more than if the issue had just been left alone.<\/p>\n \u201cFurthermore, A.B. 1104 makes no exception for satire and parody, leaving The Onion and Saturday Night Live open to accusations of illegal content. Nor does it exempt news organizations who quote deceptive statements made by politicians in their online reporting \u2013 even if their reporting is meant to debunk those claims. And what of everyday citizens who are duped by misleading materials: if 1,000 Californians retweet an incorrect statement by a presidential candidate, have they all broken the law?\u201d<\/p>\n