LOS ANGELES—Adult industry trade group the Free Speech Coalition announced a major legal victory in its age verification lawsuit in federal district court in Montana. The organization has filed similar lawsuits across the country challenging the constitutionality of age verification laws specifically targeting adult entertainment websites.
The following announcement was posted on the Free Speech Coalition's blog:
In a major victory for the Free Speech Coalition’s fight against age-verification laws, a Montana District Court has denied the state’s Motion to Dismiss, allowing the suit to proceed. The Montana ruling stands in stark opposition to a separate recent decision in Utah, where the state’s motion to dismiss was granted.
Like the Utah law and those in several other states, Montana’s law allows for enforcement only through private lawsuits, meaning that citizens—rather than the state—can sue websites for non-compliance. Supporters of the law argue that because no government official is directly responsible for enforcement, the law cannot be challenged until someone sues under it.
“This is a major victory in the fight for free speech and internet freedom,” says Alison Boden, Executive Director of Free Speech Coalition. “Despite the Montana Attorney General’s attempt to dismiss the validity of our claims, the court has ruled that the case can proceed. We look forward to arguing this case on its merits.”
Free Speech Coalition filed suit against the Montana Attorney General in May, arguing that Montana’s SB 544 violates rights granted by the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, in addition to the Commerce and Supremacy Clauses of the Constitution. The court dismissed the Commerce Clause claim but allowed all other claims to proceed.
Free Speech Coalition has previously secured preliminary injunctions against unconstitutional age-verification laws in District Courts in Indiana and Texas. The Indiana case has proceeded to discovery and the Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the Texas case in early 2025.
Representing Free Speech Coalition and its co-plaintiffs in this case are Jeff Sandman of Webb Daniel Friedlander LLP, D. Gill Sperlein of the Law Office of D. Gill Sperlein, and Natasha Prinzing Jones of Boone Karlberg P.C.
To read Judge Donald W. Molloy’s opinion, click here.
