The United States Supreme Court has declined to put on hold a Mississippi law requiring that users of social media platforms verify their age and that minors have parental consent. The high court made the decision on Thursday not to accept the challenge by NetChoice, a trade group that included tech giants such as Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Alphabet which owns YouTube, and Snapchat.
The law, which was unanimously passed by the Mississippi state legislature in 2024, requires that a social media platform obtain “express consent” from a parent or guardian of a minor before a child can open an account. It also states that regulated social media platforms must make “commercially reasonable” efforts to verify the age of users. Under the law, the state can pursue civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation as well as criminal penalties under Mississippi’s deceptive trade practices law.
NetChoice sued in federal court in 2024 in a bid to invalidate the law, which, it argues, violates the US Constitution’s protections against government abridgement of free speech. The trade group turned to the Supreme Court after the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals let the law take effect even though a judge found it likely runs afoul of the First Amendment.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a statement about the court’s order said the Mississippi law was likely unconstitutional, but that NetChoice had not met the high bar to block the measure at this early stage of the case. In a statement, Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, said Kavanaugh’s view “makes clear that NetChoice will ultimately succeed” in its challenge. Taske called the Supreme Court’s order “an unfortunate procedural delay”.
The law has sparked controversy over its potential impact on free speech and online safety. NetChoice said the social media platforms of its members already have adopted extensive policies to moderate content for minors and provide parental controls. In its request to the Supreme Court, the state told the justices that age-verification and parental consent requirements “are common ways for states to protect minors”.
Courts in seven states have preliminarily or permanently blocked similar measures, according to NetChoice. Some technology companies are separately battling lawsuits brought by US states, school districts, and individual users alleging that social platforms have exacerbated mental health problems. The companies have denied wrongdoing.