WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday chose not to intervene in stopping a new Mississippi law that enforces age verification and mandates parental consent for social media platforms.
In a concise order without any dissents, the court turned down an emergency appeal submitted by the industry group NetChoice on behalf of nine members, including Facebook, X, and YouTube.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a separate concurring opinion, stated that while he believes NetChoice is “likely to succeed on the merits” when the case is fully resolved, they failed to prove the necessity to halt the law during the initial phase of litigation.
The legislation, instituted last year, mandates users under 18 to confirm their age and requires minors to obtain parental approval to access social media sites. This law aims to tackle the increasing worries about the adverse effects of social media on the youth.
NetChoice contended in their legal documents that the limitations breach free speech rights safeguarded by the Constitution’s First Amendment. The case also represented six additional platforms: Dreamwidth, Instagram, Nextdoor, Pinterest, Reddit, and Snapchat.
Several other states, such as California, Georgia, and Florida, have enacted comparable laws in recent years, which also faced challenges, but the Supreme Court has yet to make a decision on them. In a related precedent, the court in June supported a Texas law attempting to limit young people’s access to online pornographic content.
The Mississippi law also required social media companies to make “reasonable efforts” to ensure minors are not exposed to harmful content.
Companies could be hit with $10,000 penalties for violating the law.
NetChoice’s lawyers said in court papers that the provisions force companies to effectively censor speech because users who are either unwilling to verify their age or cannot get parental approval will not be able to engage in otherwise protected speech.
Mississippi is seeking to “fundamentally alter how its citizens can access fully protected online speech,” the lawyers wrote.
Defending the measure, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch wrote in her own brief that it “imposes modest duties on interactive online platforms that are especially attractive to predators.”
A federal judge had twice ruled the law was likely unconstitutional, but the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 17 said in a brief order that it could go into effect in full.
