NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A circuit court judge granted a stay allowing a law that would require pornographic websites to make users verify their age to watch adult content to go into effect.
The “Protect Tennessee Minors Act” had been passed during the last legislative session. However, the Free Speech Coalition argued the law violated First Amendment rights and created privacy issues; the group took the state to court.
In Dec. 2024, a federal judge ruled the law likely violated the Constitution and prevented it from going into effect. On Monday, a sixth circuit court judge granted a stay allowing the law to go into effect, stating that Tennessee’s Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti “has shown that the district court likely erred in concluding that the PTMA is facially unconstitutional.”
“We see no reason to keep Tennessee’s law on ice while Texas and Indiana may enforce theirs…especially when the Supreme Court will soon offer guidance on the standard of review we should apply,” the filing added.
Skrmetti applauded the circuit court’s decision.
“We’re glad that the unanimously-passed Protect Tennessee Minors Act remains in effect while this case proceeds,” attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement Monday. “As the Court of Appeals noted, this law seeks to stem the flow of toxic content to kids and keep adult websites adults-only.”
