Judge Tosses Calif. Law Blocking Actors' Ages On IMDB.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge has struck down a California law that restricts a popular Hollywood website from posting the ages of actors.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled Tuesday that the law aimed at preventing age discrimination in the entertainment industry violated the free speech rights of IMDb.com, which provides information about movies, television shows and their casts and crews.

Chhabria also noted that the law was misguided because gender discrimination, not age discrimination, was more at the root of the problem the legislation sought to fix.

The union representing actors says it's disappointed in the ruling and intends to appeal.

Neither the entertainment website that challenged the law nor the state attorney general, who defended the law, immediately replied to messages seeking comment.