Portions of an Arkansas law that would have subjected librarians to criminal charges for letting kids check out books deemed "harmful to minors" were struck down by a federal judge last week, who ruled that parts of the law violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

The law, which threatened imprisonment if librarians or booksellers provided ‘harmful’ content to minors, violates the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled.

Republicans passed the law in 2023, joining other conservative states and counties that have sought to restrict the availability of certain books.

A law in Arkansas that threatened librarians and booksellers if they were found to have provided “harmful” content to minors has been struck down by a federal judge over concerns related to free speech.