Tennessee adult verification law temporarily blocked by judge

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WDEF)-  A federal judge has blocked a new Tennessee law that would have gone into effect on New Year’s Day.

The ruling concerns the Protect Tennessee Minors Act.

This would have required users of adult websites to present valid identification in order to access them.

The bill, sponsored by outgoing Representative Patsy Hazelwood, was designed to prevent children from accessing online pornography.

She had stated her motivation to pass the bill was that restrictions, “We do that in the physical world. Someone under 18 cannot walk into an adult entertainment establishment. They can’t buy certain kinds of materials, but the cyberworld has been a bit of a different story.”

However, after a lawsuit from the Free Speech Coalition, a judge has granted a preliminary injunction against the law going into effect.

In that ruling, the West Tennessee judge said that in their view, that the goal of protecting children cannot overrule the freedom of speech for adults.

The Supreme Court will be hearing a case on age verification laws across the country in two weeks.