California Governor Gavin Newsom Considers Legal Action Against Elon Musk

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA (VINnews)-California Governor Gavin Newsom is leaving the door open to potential legal action against Elon Musk after recent incidents involving the dissemination of memes and videos on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. This development follows Newsom’s recent signing of a law targeting the spread of misleading election information.

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The new legislation bans the distribution of “election communications that contain materially deceptive content,” which could pose a significant challenge to Musk, the owner of X. Newsom underscored the importance of the law, stating, “You can no longer knowingly distribute an ad or other election communications that contain materially deceptive content,” in a post on X.

The law is part of a broader initiative by Newsom’s administration to combat disinformation and protect voters from misleading content in the lead-up to elections. “Governor Gavin Newsom today signed three measures to remove deceptive content from large online platforms, increase accountability, and better inform voters,” read a statement from the governor’s office.

While Newsom has not explicitly stated that he would pursue legal action against Musk, the potential for a lawsuit remains a possibility, particularly if deceptive content continues to spread on X. The law could serve as a tool for California officials to hold platform owners accountable if their sites become vectors for false election information.