IMDB Strikes Back on Restrictions
On Thursday, November 10, 2016, IMDB filed suit in federal court against Senator-elect Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California, in an attempt to overturn Assembly Bill 1687, passed in September. The law is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2017.
The law, supported by SAG-AFTRA, is designed to help curtail age discrimination within the industry. An actor’s actual age is not necessarily the same as his or her “castable age.” IMDB Pro is the most well known site to which this law applies. This issue was first brought to widespread attention after the lawsuit filed by Junie Hoang in federal court in 2011.
IMDB argues that AB 1687 is an unconstitutional chilling of free speech and prevents the public from accessing facts. The law only applies to a paid subscriber on a site like IMDB, who would be empowered to make a removal or nonpublication request, and only on the areas of the site that promote casting and employment. The law would not permit an actor to request the removal of a particularly embarrassing credit, for example, so long as the information is accurate.
The Court will have to balance the level of protection given to this commercial speech with the government interest in preventing age discrimination.
Additional coverage found at:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1687
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/imdb-sues-invalidate-californias-actor-age-censorship-law-946261
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/california-enacts-law-requiring-imdb-932330
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/imdb-age-publication-lawsuit-appealed-654833
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/new-california-imdb-age-law-932808