California Elections Code

§ 20010

ELEC § 20010 Effective Jan 1, 2023Div. 20 · Ch. 1

Statute text

(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), a person, committee, as defined in Section 82013 of the Government Code, or other entity shall not, within 60 days of an election at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, distribute, with actual malice, materially deceptive audio or visual media, as defined in subdivision (e), of the candidate with the intent to injure the candidate’s reputation or to deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate.

(b)(1) The prohibition in subdivision (a) does not apply if the audio or visual media includes a disclosure stating: “This _____ has been manipulated.”

(2)The blank in the disclosure required by paragraph (1) shall be filled with whichever of the following terms most accurately describes the media:

…

Legislative history

Amended (as added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 493, Sec. 4) by Stats. 2022, Ch. 745, Sec. 3. (AB 972) Effective January 1, 2023. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, by its own provisions. See related later operative section as amended by Sec. 4 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 745.