A federal judge ruled to block a Tennessee law aimed at protecting minors on the internet from taking effect in the new year.
The Protect Tennessee Minors Act, which was signed into law by Governor Bill Lee in May 2024, requires websites that contain a “substantial portion of material harmful to minors” to perform “reasonable age-verification methods to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the material.”
Violations of the law are classified as Class C felonies in Tennessee, which carry a maximum penalty of 3-15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The law was challenged on November 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee by the Free Speech Coalition and other co-plaintiffs, which argue that the law violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
On December 30, Chief U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman granted the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction in their challenge against the Tennessee law, writing in her ruling:
The legislature has a compelling interest in protecting children from harmful content, and that is uncontested. But in its attempt to protect children, the State will unavoidably suppress a large amount of speech that adults have a First Amendment right to give and receive.
The legislature’s goal, however admirable, does not allow it to undermine an adult’s freedom of speech. Neither the legislature nor this Court can turn a blind eye to the Constitution.
Lipman was appointed by Barack Obama in 2014.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, who is listed as the defendant in the case, told The Tennessee Star that his office is fighting the ruling.
“The Protect Tennessee Minors Act institutes common sense age verification to stop kids from accessing explicit obscene content while protecting the privacy of adults who choose to do so,” Skrmetti said in a statement sent to The Star.
“Adults regularly have to prove their age to do things kids aren’t allowed to do, like vote, buy a gun, or go to a bar. Other appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court, have allowed similar laws to go into effect. We are asking the Sixth Circuit to let the Protect Tennessee Minors Act take effect while the litigation proceeds,” Skrmetti added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Judge Sheryl Lipman” by FedBar.org.
