FSC Sues Tennessee Over Criminal Age Verification Law

LOS ANGELES—The Free Speech Coalition announced today that it has sued the state of Tennessee in federal court. The lawsuit challenges the criminal penalties that adult companies face if they don't comply with the state's age verification requirements specifically targeting adult entertainment platforms. The announcement was published on the Free Speech Coalition's blog, and follows below: Free Speech Coalition, along with a diverse range of co-plaintiffs, has filed a legal challenge in Tennessee over the state’s age-verification law, arguing that it violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In addition to challenging the merits of the law, the Free Speech Coalition and its co-plaintiffs have requested an expedited preliminary injunction in the United States District Court Western District of Tennessee. SB1792 empowers the state attorney general to bring felony criminal charges against websites with “material harmful to minors” if they do not require visitors to upload a government ID, scan their face, or otherwise verify their age and identity. Joining FSC in the challenge are a host of others harmed by the law, including individuals and companies working in sex education, journalism and sexual wellness, as well as adult content creation and distribution. “Engaging in legal speech is not a criminal act,” says Alison Boden, Executive Director of Free Speech Coalition. “This law, and others like it, have effectively become state censorship, creating a massive chilling effect for those who deal in sex or sexuality, and creating significant privacy risk for Tennesseans who want to access sexual health information, adult content or any other controversial speech.”  Free Speech Coalition has challenged similar laws in Indiana, Montana, Texas, Louisiana, and Utah. The Texas case, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, will be heard by the United States Supreme Court in January 2025. Joining Free Speech Coalition as co-plaintiffs are content creator and educator MelRose Michaels; sex education platform O.school (Deep Technologies, Inc.); sexual wellness retailer Adam & Eve (PHE, Inc.); and adult fan platform JustFor.Fans (JFF Publications, LLC). SB1792 is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2025.  Representing Free Speech Coalition and its co-plaintiffs in this case are Jeff Sandman of Webb Daniel Friedlander LLP, D. Gill Sperlein of the Law Office of D. Gill Sperlein, and Edward M. Bearman of the Law Office of Edward M. Bearman.  View the complaint and motion for preliminary injunction.