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The Supreme Court has decided to allow Mississippi’s law requiring age verification on social media to proceed while the dispute is being contested in court. On Thursday, the court denied an emergency request from the trade group NetChoice to block the law, providing no detailed rationale. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in an accompanying opinion, mentioned the law’s potential unconstitutionality but stated that NetChoice had not shown enough risk of harm.
The law, identified as HB 1126, mandates social media sites to confirm the age of account creators and blocks those under 18 unless parental consent is obtained. It also obliges platforms to safeguard minors from “harmful material,” including explicit content and self-harm related material, in addition to limiting data collection.
Supported by tech leaders such as Meta, Google, Amazon, Reddit, and Discord, NetChoice contends that age verification for general social media platforms breaches the First Amendment. While NetChoice initially secured an injunction against the law, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this last April, permitting the law’s implementation. Nevertheless, Justice Kavanaugh pointed out that several district courts have stopped similar laws in other states.
“It’s clear that NetChoice is likely to succeed on its claims, specifically that enforcing the Mississippi law would likely infringe on First Amendment rights,” Justice Kavanaugh stated.
Despite this ruling, NetChoice remains optimistic about succeeding. “Even though the Court’s decision is a disappointment, Justice Kavanaugh’s opinion indicates that NetChoice will ultimately protect the First Amendment in this case and across its ID-for-Speech lawsuits,” stated Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center. “This is just a temporary procedural setback.”
This decision emerges as officials in the US and globally advocate for age verification rules to shield young users from harmful online content. The Supreme Court, in June, supported a Texas law requiring age verification before accessing adult sites, setting a precedent for similar regulations, albeit geared towards adult-focused platforms. Concurrently, the UK has enforced broader online age-verification requirements, asking users to prove their age using government ID, facial scans, or credit card information on designated websites.
Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, said in a statement that age verification laws have “significant impacts on privacy and speech rights of both adult and teen users.” Huddleston notes that today’s decision doesn’t mean the court “will automatically uphold this law as constitutional should it reach it through the full appeals process.”
