Hello all,

Some of you may have read about a new law in California, AB 1687, which would require websites that offer employment services (like IMDB) to remove information about an actor's age or birthday upon request.[0] IMDB is now protesting the law's restriction on free speech, arguing that it limits their ability to share truthful information.[1]

While this law would not apply to a website like Wikipedia directly—we do not provide employment services, like IMDBPro—we are still concerned with the breadth of the law and important free speech principles that underlie this case. Restricting websites' ability to write truthful facts about notable people will make it harder for Wikipedians to do research and write articles.

We've joined the Electronic Frontier Foundation in an amicus brief that explains these free speech issues.[2] This case is still in a lower court, so it will likely continue.

Best, Jan

0. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/california-enacts-law-requiring-imdb-9...

1. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/11/imdb-sues-california-to-overtur...

2. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/01/eff-dont-gag-imdb

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Jan Gerlach Public Policy Manager Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street, 6th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 jgerlach@wikimedia.org