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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Adult website Pornhub has removed access for all Tennesseans after a new state law requiring age verification for adult websites was upheld by a federal appeals court.
The Protect Tennessee Minors Act, which requires all websites with adult content to obtain identification to verify the age of all site viewers, was passed last year and scheduled to go into effect on January 1.
That was paused on December 31 by a Memphis judge who called the law a “scorched earth” attack on free speech.
On Monday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that block, ruling that the law would be effective as of January 14 and would remain in effect pending the outcome of the lawsuit brought by advocacy group Free Speech Coalition.
According to the appeals court, it is “not yet clear that the PTMA threatens any freedom protected by the First Amendment.”
The new law mandates that websites complete age verification for users if 33% or more of their content is considered to be “harmful to minors.” That verification must be repeated every 60 minutes, and sites must save anonymized data for all users.
While other states have similar laws, the new Tennessee law carries harsher penalties, including felony charges.
Pornhub argues that requiring age verification is counterproductive, putting “children and your privacy at risk.”
“Mandating age verifications without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply. As we’ve seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place,” the company said in a released statement.
The company pushed for “device-based verification” rather than requiring repeated uploading of people’s private information. They also argued that parents can “easily” block access to the site.
Pornhub has already blocked access in 14 other states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Caroline, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti says the ruling is “another win for Tennessee.”
“We’re glad that the unanimously passed Protect Tennessee Minors Act remains in effect while this case proceeds,” he stated. “As the Court of Appeals noted, this law seeks to stem the flow of toxic content to kids and keep adult websites adults-only.”
