A Tennessee district court has blocked the state’s age verification law, the Protect Tennessee Minors Act, from taking effect on January 1, following a motion for preliminary injunction filed by the Free Speech Coalition (FSC).

Legal Challenge and Injunction

The Free Speech Coalition, along with co-plaintiffs, filed a legal challenge in Tennessee against the state’s age-verification law, SB1792, arguing it violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit was filed against Tennessee’s Attorney General in November. SB1792 empowers the state attorney general to bring felony criminal charges against websites with “material harmful to minors” if they do not require visitors to upload a government ID, scan their face, or otherwise verify their age and identity. The law also requires visitors to be re-verified every hour and allows the database to keep records for 30 days.

On December 30, 2024, the District Court granted a preliminary injunction, blocking the Attorney General from enforcing the law. Chief United States District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman stated in her decision, "The legislature has a compelling interest in protecting children from harmful content, and that is uncontested. But in its attempt to protect children, the State will unavoidably suppress a large amount of speech that adults have a First Amendment right to give and receive." Judge Lipman further wrote, "The legislature’s goal, however admirable, does not allow it to undermine an adult’s freedom of speech. Neither the legislature nor this Court can turn a blind eye to the Constitution."

The Free Speech Coalition issued a statement supporting the court’s decision. Alison Boden, Executive Director of the Free Speech Coalition, called the law "deeply flawed" and stated that it "put website operators at risk of criminal prosecution for something as trivial as a mention of the human nipple." Boden expressed gratitude to the legal team, specifically mentioning Gill Sperlein, who argued the case in Tennessee. The FSC’s legal team includes attorneys Jeff Sandman, D. Gill Sperlein, and Edward M. Bearman, from the firms Webb Daniel Friedlander LLP and The Law Offic.

Legislative Background and Criticisms

The Protect Tennessee Minors Act was passed in the Tennessee General Assembly on May 13, 2024. The bill would have required anyone under the age of 18 to obtain parental consent to sign up for a social media site, a process that would involve age verification. The Tennessee legislature passed SB 1792 on April 24 with a unanimous bipartisan vote. Republican Governor Bill Lee signed the bill into law on Tuesday. The law was set to go into effect on January 1, 2025.

FSC Executive Director Alison Boden called Tennessee’s new age verification bill “an attack not only on the adult industry but on the First Amendment rights of millions of people who engage with adult content online.” Boden told XBIZ that the legislation “goes further than almost any other bill that we’ve seen and directly criminalizes speech online, by making it a felony to operate, or seemingly even link to, a platform that does not perform age verification.”

Mike Stabile, FSC Director of Public Affairs, told XBIZ that SB 1792 is a “particularly bad” law due to its felony charge component. Stabile also highlighted the requirement for visitors to be re-verified every hour and the provision allowing the database to retain records for 30 days. He characterized the law, along with similar measures proposed in Ohio and Alabama, as “grossly unconstitutional and dangerous,” asserting that “They are meant to crush legal speech. But if they’re not challenged, they will go into effect.”

Ongoing Legal Battles and Future Outlook

The Free Speech Coalition is challenging similar age-verification laws in Louisiana, Texas, Utah, Indiana, Montana, and Florida. The Texas case, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, is scheduled to be heard by the United States Supreme Court on January 15, 2025.

In the Tennessee case, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the preliminary injunction on January 13, 2025, allowing Tennessee’s law to go into effect. The court had previously stayed the proceedings until a decision in FSC v. Paxton is issued by the Supreme Court on April 22, 2025. On July 22, 2025, FSC filed a status report indicating its intention to proceed with the case. The lawsuit includes individuals and companies working in sex education, journalism, sexual wellness, and adult content creation and distribution as co-plaintiffs.

Key Facts

  • A Tennessee district court blocked the Protect Tennessee Minors Act from taking effect on January 1.
  • The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) filed a motion for preliminary injunction against the law in November.
  • Chief United States District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman granted the injunction, citing First Amendment concerns.
  • The law, SB1792, would have imposed felony criminal charges on websites not performing age verification for "material harmful to minors."
  • The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals later stayed the preliminary injunction on January 13, 2025, allowing the law to go into effect.
  • The FSC is involved in similar legal challenges against age-verification laws in multiple other states.