The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to block Mississippi’s new age verification law for social media platforms, allowing the measure to take effect while appeals continue. The law forces social media companies to verify user ages and requires parental consent for minors. Critics argue it could violate free speech rights, while supporters say it protects children from online harms.
What’s Happening & Why This Matters
Mississippi’s New Social Media Rules
Mississippi’s House Bill 1126 now requires every social media platform to confirm a user’s age during sign-up. If the user is under 18, platforms must secure parental consent. The law also compels companies to detect, block, or restrict harmful or obscene content when it involves minors. Unlike some state laws that only apply to adult websites, Mississippi’s measure applies to all social media platforms.
The law is named after Walker Montgomery, a teenager who died after falling victim to a sextortion scam on Instagram. Lawmakers say the measure is designed to stop similar tragedies by holding platforms responsible for minors’ safety online.
Legal Challenges and Free Speech Debate
Tech industry group NetChoice, representing companies like Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat, argues the law infringes on the First Amendment. In July 2024, a federal judge blocked the law, citing free speech concerns. But the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later lifted the block, clearing the way for enforcement.
NetChoice then turned to the Supreme Court for emergency relief. Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected the petition, noting that while NetChoice is likely to succeed in its challenge, the group failed to show the law should be halted during the appeals process. He wrote that the law is “likely unconstitutional,” but that procedural hurdles prevent intervention at this stage.
Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, responded:
“Although we’re disappointed with the Court’s decision, Justice Kavanaugh’s concurrence makes clear that NetChoice will ultimately succeed in defending the First Amendment—not just in this case but across all NetChoice’s ID-for-Speech lawsuits.”
Wider National and Global Context
Mississippi’s approach mirrors the UK’s stricter rules on social media age verification and goes further than many other U.S. states. The Supreme Court recently upheld a narrower Texas law requiring adult websites to verify user ages, signaling that some forms of online age verification can withstand constitutional scrutiny. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in that ruling:
“The power to require age verification is within a State’s authority to prevent children from accessing sexually explicit content. Any burden experienced by adults is therefore only incidental.”
The Mississippi case, however, is broader since it impacts every social media user, not just those visiting adult sites. The result could set new boundaries for how far states can go in regulating tech platforms.
TF Summary: What’s Next
Mississippi can now enforce its age verification law while the legal battle continues. The case raises tough questions: How far can states go in protecting children online without infringing on adults’ constitutional rights? Tech companies argue that blanket verification creates privacy risks and suppresses free expression. Lawmakers, on the other hand, stress the urgency of shielding minors from exploitation and harmful content.
The Fifth Circuit will issue the next major ruling, but the issue seems destined to return to the Supreme Court for a final decision. Until then, Mississippi’s experiment could shape future state-level efforts and push social media companies to rethink how they handle age checks.
— Text-to-Speech (TTS) provided by gspeech