California Assembly Bill Allowing Actors to Hide Publication of Their Age Ruled Unconstitutional

California Federal District Court Judge Vince Chhabria has overturned California Assembly Bill 1687 (the “Bill”), a law written to combat age discrimination by allowing actors to hide publication of their ages. The Judge’s ruling declared the law unconstitutional as a restriction of free speech.  Citing the defendant’s desire for the Bill to help combat such practices as “the commonplace action of casting a much younger female against a much older male”, or the under-representation women in leading roles or in director’s chairs, the opinion labels this “far more a problem of sex discrimination” and “a manifestation of the industry’s insistence on objectifying women.”

Additional Resources

California State Assembly Bill 1687

Court Docket: IMDB.com v. Becerra

Read More: Law allowing actors to censor publication of their ages violates First Amendment, judge rules