US Supreme Court declines to pause new Mississippi social media law

Al Jazeera

5 days ago

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 justices denied a request to block the law while the Washington-based tech industry trade association's legal challenge to the law, which, it argues, violates the US Constitution's protections against government abridgement of free speech, plays out in lower courts.
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.'
NetChoice had 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.
NetChoice sued in federal court in 2024 in a bid to invalidate the law, which was passed unanimously in the state legislature amid concern by lawmakers about the potential negative effects of social media use on the mental health of children.
Its emergency request to the justices marked the first time the Supreme Court was asked to consider a social media age-verification law.
The law 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.
Multiple lawsuits
US District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden in Gulfport, Mississippi, last year blocked Mississippi from enforcing the restrictions on some NetChoice members.
Ozerden issued a second order in June pausing the rules against those members, including Meta and its Instagram and Facebook platforms, Snapchat and YouTube.
The 5th Circuit on July 17 issued a one-sentence ruling that paused the judge's order, without explaining its reasoning.
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.
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'.
In May, Texas passed a law requiring Apple and Alphabet's Google to verify the age of users of their app stores.