Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The state of Tennessee is enacting some new legislation at the beginning of the new year. Below are examples of several of the new laws going into effect.

– Protecting Children From Social Media Act: This act requires a social media company to verify the age of a person who attempts to create an account, or of a person who is an account holder within 14 days of their logging into that account. Minors who have or try to create social media accounts will have to provide parental consent in order to create the account. The legislation, which is currently being fought in federal court, will require social media companies to verify a user’s age and allow for parental consent. Governor Lee previously said the law will “empower” parents to protect their kids while online. 

– Protect Tennessee Minors Act: This act requires any website with content that is 10% or more considered “harmful to minors” to have anyone attempting to access that website to upload proof that they are not under the age of 18. The “Protect Tennessee Minors Act” will require websites with sexual content to confirm, in some way (i.e. state ID or facial recognition), that a viewer is 18 or older. 

“This bill simply puts the cyber community in concert with what we do in the physical world,” Rep. Patsy Hazlewood told the Assembly back in April. “We do not allow minors to go into adult establishments, we do allow minors access to written materials that are inappropriate.” 

That law is also facing pushback, with the Free Speech Coalition filing a lawsuit this month on grounds of a First Amendment violation.

– House Bill 1814: This act requires landlords to provide certain information to tenants when signing a lease agreement. Under the new law, landlords must provide tenants with contact information for management and maintenance, as well as services or an online portal for tenant-landlord communication.

– Bartender Sexual Assault Training: This act will require all servers and bartenders in Tennessee to be trained on preventing date-rape drugging and the role of alcohol and drugs in sexual assault.

– Birth Control Access: This act requires that providers with TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, must begin prescribing birth control as a 12-month refill, allowing patients to get a year’s worth of contraceptives without returning for multiple doctor’s visits.