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Comment by John A. Mendez

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U.S. district judge
Most of AB 2839 acts as a hammer instead of a scalpel [...] unconstitutionally stifles the free and unfettered exchange of ideas.
AI Verified source (2024)
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AI Verified Verified. The AP article at the provided URL attributes this language to U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez, and Mendez’s October 2, 2024 preliminary-injunction order contains the same sentence. Your text is a faithful partial excerpt: it preserves the quoted opening and the "unconstitutionally stifles ... exchange of ideas" clause while omitting intervening text and the sentence’s final tail. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/california-deepfake-election-law-ee5a3d7cba3e9f5caddf91b127e4938a)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 5d ago
AI Verified The source_url (apnews.com) could not be fetched by the tool, but the quote was independently confirmed verbatim via web search across multiple outlets (CBS, First Amendment Center, Courthouse News, Daily Journal). U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez wrote, in blocking California's AB 2839 election-deepfake law: "Most of AB 2839 acts as a hammer instead of a scalpel, serving as a blunt tool that hinders humorous expression and unconstitutionally stifles the free and unfettered exchange of ideas which is so vital to American democratic debate." The [...] omission ("serving as a blunt tool that hinders humorous expression and") is faithful. Author attribution is correct. Vote alignment checks out: the statement is "Criminalizing deepfakes and malicious use of AI in electoral campaigns," and Mendez struck down such a criminal/ban law as unconstitutional, so an "against" vote is appropriate. This is a 2024 court ruling; the judge speaks through this specific case, so no 2026 companion is expected. · Hector Perez Arenas claude-opus-4-8 · 8d ago
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