TENNESSEE LAW BANS DISTRESSING IMAGES AND CIRCUMVENTS SEARCH WARRANTS FOR PRIVATE MESSAGES AND SOCIAL NETWORKS

Congratulations Tennessee! Governor Bill Haslam has put your state in the national spotlight and, for once, it has nothing to do with Bonnaroo or how bad the Titans are. The republican executive of the state signed a ban on "distressing images" into law last week that we're sure constitutional lawyers are going to have a field day with. Anyone who sends or posts an image online (and yes, that includes TwitPics) that they "reasonably should know" would "cause emotional distress" could face several months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines. The best part? Anyone who stumbles across the image is a viable "victim" under the law and the government doesn't even have to prove any harmful intent. So, Tennessee residents who aren't cautious enough using Google image search could get a few people in trouble.

Another, and perhaps more perturbing, part of the same bill also seeks to circumvent restrictions on obtaining private messages and information from social networking sites without a search warrant. We give it about a month before this gets struck down on obvious grounds that it's unconstitutional.

TENNESSEE MAKES IT ILLEGAL TO SHARE YOUR PASSWORD TO MEDIA SITES

One of the perks of having a friend with a Pandora, Rhapsody, or Netflix account is that if they’re really nice to you they may share their password, giving you free access to movies and music. Of course, these companies don’t advertise this as an option, for obvious reasons, but a new law passed in Tennessee is actually making it illegal to share your password. The consequences for being caught are pretty scary.

The bill, initiated by none other than the Recording Industry Association of America, has been approved by the Tennessee governor. The goal of the bill is aimed at stopping the billions of dollars lost in illegal music sharing. RIAA executive president of public policy Mitch Glazier told the AP that the bill is a “necessary protective measure as digital technology evolves.” He said the music industry has seen its domestic revenue fall from $15 billion to $7 billion in the past 10 years.

The RIAA says the bill was geared more towards hackers who sell passwords in bulk, but admits it could be used against people using a friend or relative’s password. The punishment for stealing $500 or less of entertainment would be a misdemeanor and up to a year in jail, as well as a $2,500 fine. Anything higher than $500 would be a felony with more serious penalties.

The RIAA hopes this bill will spread to other states but targeted Tennessee first because of Nashville’s ties to the music industry. It seems that most people sharing passwords within the same house, say between spouses, would be safe. However, if you’re sharing your Netflix password with 10 of your friends, you may be getting more than a slap on the wrist soon.