Supreme Court Allows Mississippi Age Verification Law

The Supreme Court recently ruled that Mississippi can implement laws that require social media platforms to verify the ages of their users.

In a straightforward order, the court dismissed appeals from Netchoice, a tech industry group that includes members like Google and Meta. They had sought to pause the law while a lawsuit is pending.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh stated that he believes the Mississippi law is “highly likely to be unconstitutional.” However, Netchoice argued that they haven’t convincingly proved their case regarding the balance of harm involved.

Kavanaugh noted that Netchoice showed a strong potential for success on the merits of their case. He pointed out that enforcing Mississippi’s law may infringe on the First Amendment rights of the group’s members based on existing court precedents.

Netchoice responded, expressing their belief that the First Amendment protections will ultimately prevail over Mississippi’s speech regulations. They indicated disappointment after the court temporarily allowed the law to take effect while their case is ongoing.

The law demands that specific social media platforms confirm the age of their users, seek “commercially reasonable” consent for minors, and implement measures to protect children from various harms, including trafficking and violence.

Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, described the ruling as a regrettable procedural setback but affirmed his confidence in a successful defense of the First Amendment rights.