Supreme Court allows Mississippi to require age verification on social media like Facebook and X
NetChoice argues that the Mississippi law threatens privacy rights and unconstitutionally restricts the free expression of users of all ages.
Advertisement
A federal judge agreed and
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
It's the latest legal development as court challenges play out against similar laws in states across the country.
Parents and even
Advertisement
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch told the justices that age verification could help protect young people from 'sexual abuse, trafficking, physical violence, sextortion and more,' activities that Fitch noted are not protected by the First Amendment.
NetChoice represents some of the country's most high-profile technology companies, including Google, which owns YouTube; Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat; and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. NetChoice has filed similar lawsuits in
Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, called the decision 'an unfortunate procedural delay.'
'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," he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Mississippi social media law upheld
In an emergency ruling Thursday, the justices denied internet trade group NetChoice's request to reinstate a lower court's order protecting social media giants like Meta, X and YouTube from the new requirements. The Supreme Court did not explain its order or disclose the vote count, as is typical in emergency cases. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, however, wrote a solo opinion cautioning that NetChoice is likely to ultimately succeed on its First Amendment claims even though he was siding against the group at this stage. 'In short, under this Court's case law as it currently stands, the Mississippi law is likely unconstitutional,' Kavanaugh's brief opinion reads. 'Nonetheless, because NetChoice has not sufficiently demonstrated that the balance of harms and equities favors it at this time, I concur in the Court's denial of the application for interim relief,' the conservative justice continued. NetChoice had asked the court to intervene after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit lifted the district judge's decision shielding the platforms from the 2024 law without explanation. 'Neither NetChoice nor this Court can know why the Fifth Circuit believed this law satisfies the First Amendment's stringent demands or deviated from the seven other decisions enjoining similar laws,' NetChoice wrote in its request. It argued it would face 'immediate, irreparable' injury should the law be allowed to go into effect. Mississippi's law establishes requirements for social media companies to confirm their users' ages. Minors must have express consent from a parent or guardian to use the platform, and covered websites must strive to eliminate their exposure to harmful material or face a $10,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden found the law unconstitutional as applied to NetChoice members YouTube, X, Snapchat, Reddit, Pinterest, Nextdoor, Dreamwidth and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. The Hill's Ella Lee has more here.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Taylor Swift Breaks A Record Previously Held By Trump, And She Did It In Just An Hour
We're sure there will be bad blood. Taylor Swift has broken a record previously held by President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, the Grammy winner appeared on the 'New Heights' podcast hand-in-hand with her boyfriend and co-host Travis Kelce, as his older brother, Jason Kelce, interviewed Swift for a little over two hours. The Daily Beast reports that 1.3 million viewers tuned to watch the podcast episode on YouTube within the first hour that it was online. The outlet notes that reps for the 'Shake It Off' singer confirmed the number. The figure trumps the record previously held by Trump. His appearance on the 'Joe Rogan Experience' in October 2024 saw 800,000 people tune in within the first hour, according to CNN data analyst Harry Enten. CNN host Kate Bolduan also noted Wednesday the episode is 'already on track to become one of the most watched podcasts of all time.' Trump will likely be pretty peeved about Swift mopping him up. The president expressed hostility towards the 'Blank Space' singer after she publicly endorsed Kamala Harris in the build-up to the 2024 presidential election. 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' he wrote in all caps on his Truth Social platform at the time. In May, the president proved he was no Swiftie yet again when he published another post on Truth Social that read: 'Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she's no longer 'HOT?'' We suppose that at least 1.3 million people think otherwise. Leonardo DiCaprio Reveals Biggest Hollywood Regret: 'It's True' 'South Park' Highlights Brutal Unaired Scene Attacking Kristi Noem: 'Didn't See This On TV?' Kelly Clarkson's Former Assistant Named As Brandon Blackstock's Partner In Obituary
Engadget
2 hours ago
- Engadget
The Supreme Court lets Mississippi's social media age-verification law go into effect
The Supreme Court has decided not to weigh in on one of the many state-level age-verification laws currently being reviewed across the country. Today, the top court chose not to intervene on legislation from Mississippi about checking the ages of social media users, denying an application to vacate stay from NetChoice. The Mississippi law requires all users to verify their ages in order to use social media sites. It also places responsibility on the social networks to prevent children from accessing "harmful materials" and it requires parental consent for minors to use any social media. NetChoice represents several tech companies — including social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube — and it sued to block the law on grounds that it violates the First Amendment. A district court ruled in favor of NetChoice, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted its temporary block. Although Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied the application to vacate stay on the appeals court ruling, he also wrote that "NetChoice has, in my view, demonstrated that it is likely to succeed on the merits—namely, that enforcement of the Mississippi law would likely violate its members' First Amendment rights under this Court's precedents." He denied the application because NetChoice "has not sufficiently demonstrated that the balance of harms and equities favors it at this time." This decision means that, at least for now, Mississippi's law will be allowed to stand. "Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence makes clear that NetChoice will ultimately succeed in defending the First Amendment," said Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center. "This is merely an unfortunate procedural delay." There are several other state laws being assessed at various points in the US legal system. Some are centered on adult content providers such as pornography sites , while others are more broadly targeting social media use. Arkansas and Florida have seen federal judges block their laws, while Texas and Nebraska are working toward adopting their own rules about social media for minors. Yahoo, the parent company of Engadget, is a member of NetChoice.
