IMDb Sues California for Right to Publish Celebrity Ages

IMDb has filed a lawsuit against the state of California after legislation was enacted allowing actors to request to have their ages removed from subscription entertainment database sites.

The legislation was fought for by SAG-AFTRA and Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1687 into law on September 24.

“IMDb shares the worthy goal of preventing age discrimination,” attorney John C. Hueston said in the complaint. “But AB 1687 is an unconstitutional law that does not advance, much less achieve, that goal. To the contrary, rather than passing laws designed to address the root problem of age discrimination, the State of California has chosen to chill free speech and undermine public access to factual information.”

“IMDb routinely and gladly updates information on IMDb.com in order to correct verified inaccuracies,” he added. “But it has always been IMDb’s policy not to alter or delete any accurate, factual information on the public website. Being compelled to do so not only violates basic free speech principles, but undermines the accuracy and reliability of the IMDb.com database on which millions of users rely.”

DO YOU THINK that IMDb should be allowed to post celebrity ages?