Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of video-sharing platform Rumble, challenging two recently enacted California laws that regulate political content online. The lawsuit argues that the laws violate First Amendment protections and federal statutes.
The lawsuit, Rumble v. Bonta, filed in the Sacramento Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, specifically targets Assembly Bill AB 2655, which requires large online platforms to remove and label certain political content deemed “materially deceptive.”
According to the complaint, the law was fast-tracked after Governor Gavin Newsom reacted to a parody video of Vice President Kamala Harris, declaring that such content “should be illegal.”
What is Alliance Defending Freedom?
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, marriage and family, and the sanctity of life.
Alliance Defending Freedom Church & Ministry Alliance, a specialized division of Alliance Defending Freedom, offers dedicated legal assistance to religious organizations. This focused branch works to safeguard religious institutions’ core freedoms, helping them maintain their right to exercise and express their spiritual beliefs.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys contend that AB 2655 forces platforms to censor content that is “reasonably likely to harm the reputation or electoral prospects” of candidates or “reasonably likely to falsely undermine confidence” in an election. The complaint contends this violates multiple constitutional protections and argues the law is “substantially overbroad because it does not adequately define various material terms in the statute.”
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys argue that Section 230, a foundational piece of the internet legislation, specifically protects online platforms from being punished for their content moderation decisions. Since California’s new law tries to force platforms like Rumble to remove certain types of political content, the attorneys contend this state law is invalid because it directly conflicts with these federal protections.
ADF Senior Counsel Phil Sechler calls California’s war against political speech “censorship, plain and simple.” In a statement on Alliance Defending Freedom Media, Sechler said, “We can’t trust the government to decide what is true in our online political debates. Rumble is one of the few online voices stepping up against this trend of censorship while other platforms and sites cave to totalitarian regimes censoring Americans. Rumble is standing for free speech even when it is hard. Other online platforms and media companies must see these laws for what they are—a threat to their existence.”
This case follows a similar lawsuit, The Babylon Bee v. Bonta, filed by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of The Babylon Bee, which recently resulted in California officials agreeing not to enforce AB 2839 against the satire website after a federal court found the law likely violated First Amendment protections.