NetChoice Calls for Injunction on Tenn. Age-Verification Law After Similar Ohio Law Enjoined
Trade association NetChoice asked the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee on Thursday to follow the lead of the decision in NetChoice v. Yost and order a preliminary injunction on a law that requires age verification before a person can access social media. The Yost case, decided Wednesday, enjoined an Ohio law requiring age verification on First Amendment grounds (see 2504160049).
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"Yost’s final summary judgment decision lends support to multiple NetChoice arguments in this case," the group said. In the Tennessee case, like the Ohio case, NetChoice has standing; the act in question burdens First Amendment rights; both acts are content-based and subject to strict scrutiny; some "definitions are unconstitutionally vague"; and "NetChoice’s members have experienced, and continue to experience, the same irreparable injuries" in both cases.
NetChoice sued Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R) over HB-1891 in October (case 24-01191), citing First Amendment and privacy concerns with required age verification. The organization has called for a preliminary injunction against the bill (see 2501170070), which Skrmetti has opposed multiple times (see 2501240052 and 2503250041). Both parties have used rulings in other cases to justify their positions: Skrmetti cited CCIA & NetChoice v. Uthmeier (see 2503170061) as a reason for the court to deny the injunction (see 2503180053), while NetChoice said the decision in NetChoice LLC v. Griffin is justification for the court to grant an injunction (see 2504020033).