NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Starting in January, Tennessee will require anyone who watches pornography to verify their age to access adult websites.
One group has sued in order to stop the law from taking effect in the state, claiming the law is unconstitutional. Meanwhile, a similar case from Texas will go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
After years of debate, the “Protect Tennessee Minors Act” passed in June, receiving Governor Bill Lee’s signature. The law emphasizes the need for ID verification based on children’s unsupervised access to the internet and said this law is the “best hope for shielding children from pornography online.”
“In a store, you can’t buy a Playboy or a Hustler or whatever the heck they are anymore without showing your ID, right?” president of the Tennessee Faith & Freedom Coalition, Aaron Gulbransen, said. “So this law simply brought the law to match up with technology.”
According to a 2023 study from the National Library of Medicine, adolescent pornography use has continuously increased. Web traffic data from one pornographic website, PornHub, suggested the U.S. was the leading country when it came to watching pornography in 2023. Additionally, Tennessee was listed as one of the 10 states with the longest time spent per visit to the website.
However, the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and their co-plaintiffs have argued that restricting access violates the First Amendment.
“We are looking at challenging this law no matter where it is,” Free Speech Coalition representative Mike Stabile said.
However, the FSC argues that this law takes away from Tennesseans’ First Amendment rights.
“There is no First Amendment right to exposing kids to crazy sexual activities,” Gulbransen expressed. “I mean, there just isn’t. The porn industry exists because it’s a business. People make money off of it, so these guys are just trying to make as much money as they can without having to comply with the law.”
According to the law, users must verify their age every 60 minutes. Anyone who violates the law would be subject to criminal and civil penalties, including up to 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. The FCS claims the 60-minute time limit exists only “for the purpose of shaming the adult viewer.”
The group also states that the law was not needed as parents can put parental controls on their children’s devices.
In a statement, the Executive Director of Free Speech Coalition, Alison Boden, said:
“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.”
The FSC has challenged similar Indiana, Montana, Texas, Louisiana, and Utah laws.
In Indiana, the American Civil Liberties Union has said that, in regards to a law similar to Tennessee’s, the act does little to protect children.
“There are just so many ways for minors to get around age verification,” Chris Daley with the ACLU of Indiana said. “Largely through using a VPN and making it look like they are in a state that doesn’t have age verification.”
The lawsuit has sought a preliminary injunction. That similar lawsuit from the FSC in Texas will be heard by the Supreme Court in January.
