FSC: Appeals Court Allows Tennessee AV Law to Enter Force

LOS ANGELES—The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced that a federal appeals court has allowed Tennessee’s age verification criminal law to enter force. This move comes shortly after a district court ordered a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement. The U.S. Supreme Court is also scheduled to hear oral arguments this week in similar age verification litigation between the FSC and the state of Texas. The following was published on FSC’s blog: The United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has granted Tennessee a stay of the preliminary injunction ordered in December, allowing the Protect Tennessee Minors Act, the state’s age-verification law, to go into effect. Adult businesses should be aware that the state’s attorney general could begin enforcing the law, effective immediately. Additionally, the law permits residents of Tennessee to bring a private cause of action, or civil suit, against sites with “material harmful to minors.” Free Speech Coalition’s challenge to a Texas law is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.  Joining Free Speech Coalition as co-plaintiffs are 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). 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.