NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Several new and impactful state laws are set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
Next week, a slew of legislation will officially become Tennessee law, including the “Protecting Children from Social Media Act.”
The legislation, which is currently being fought in federal court, will require social media companies to verify a user’s age and allow for parental consent. Governor Lee previously said the law will “empower” parents to protect their kids while online.
In addition to safeguarding youth, the “Protect Tennessee Minors Act” will require websites with sexual content to confirm, in some way (i.e. state ID or facial recognition), that a viewer is 18 or older.
“This bill simply puts the cyber community in concert with what we do in the physical world,” Rep. Patsy Hazlewood told the Assembly back in April. “We do not allow minors to go into adult establishments, we do allow minors access to written materials that are inappropriate.”
That law is also facing pushback, with the Free Speech Coalition filing a lawsuit this month on grounds of a first amendment violation.
Bartenders across the state will also need further training in 2025. Come Jan. 1, all alcohol servers in Tennessee must be trained on the role drugs and alcohol play in sexual assault.
The law was crafted by the Sexual Assault Center.
“Bartenders and servers make the most contact with the patrons in their bars,” Lorraine McGuire of the center told News 2 in August. “They see and interact… you can tell when something’s off, and you can tell when maybe someone’s not having a good time. But instead of just not knowing what to do with that, now they can actually know how to intervene.”
That training will then need to be renewed by bartenders every two years in Tennessee.
Other new laws set to be enacted include increased birth control access for TennCare customers, and increased transparency for landlords with their tenants.
