logo
Court rules Mississippi's social media age verification law can go into effect

Court rules Mississippi's social media age verification law can go into effect

A Mississippi law that requires social media users to verify their ages can go into effect, a federal court has ruled. A tech industry group has pledged to continue challenging the law, arguing it infringes on users' rights to privacy and free expression.
A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overruled a decision by a federal district judge to block the 2024 law from going into effect. It's the latest legal development as court challenges play out against similar laws in states across the country.
Parents — and even some teens themselves — are growing increasingly concerned about the effects of social media use on young people. Supporters of the new laws have said they are needed to help curb the explosive use of social media among young people, and what researchers say is an associated increase in depression and anxiety.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch argued in a court filing defending the law that steps such as age verification for digital sites could mitigate harm caused by 'sex trafficking, sexual abuse, child pornography, targeted harassment, sextortion, incitement to suicide and self-harm, and other harmful and often illegal conduct against children.'
Attorneys for NetChoice, which brought the lawsuit, have pledged to continue their court challenge, arguing the law threatens privacy rights and unconstitutionally restricts the free expression of users of all ages.
The industry group, which has filed similar lawsuits in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Utah, 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.
In a written statement, Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, said the group is 'very disappointed' in the decision to let Mississippi's law go into effect and is 'considering all available options.'
'NetChoice will continue to fight against this egregious infringement on access to fully protected speech online,' Taske said. 'Parents — not the government — should determine what is right for their families.'
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Bears GM Ryan Poles addresses recent contract extension
Bears GM Ryan Poles addresses recent contract extension

Yahoo

time7 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Bears GM Ryan Poles addresses recent contract extension

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles was recently signed to a contract extension that will align him with head coach Ben Johnson, for the foreseeable future, in an effort to establish a culture inside Halas Hall. As the team continued to have turnover at the general manager and head coaching positions, there was not clear alignment on both sides until now with Poles and Johnson as both are under contract through 2029. Speaking to the media for the first time since signing his extension, Poles explained how he feels the alignment with Johnson will go and how things should work between them. Wanting to just be present in his support for his new head coach, Poles is putting the team and organization first. "Contract that came out while we were on break, I'm not going to get into details on that," Poles said Tuesday. "I am excited about the alignment and stability that we have within our leadership group here. I have an unbelievable group of people that support me, believe in me, work with me that help drive what we're doing with our roster and the football team. My sole focus right now is supporting Ben, his coaching staff, our players, and our entire organization and our entire football operation." Getting Poles and Johnson lined up together should build faith and confidence in the organization from a player and fan perspective, but the results will have to be there, as well. The other side of the equation is that if the success doesn't come sooner than later, both Johnson and Poles could find themselves on the chopping block together. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears GM Ryan Poles addresses recent contract extension

Tesla stock slides after earnings miss, Musk warning of 'few rough quarters'
Tesla stock slides after earnings miss, Musk warning of 'few rough quarters'

Yahoo

time7 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Tesla stock slides after earnings miss, Musk warning of 'few rough quarters'

Tesla (TSLA) reported a slight earnings and revenue miss in the second quarter, and CEO Elon Musk hinted at a "few rough quarters" amid mounting challenges for the automaker. Tesla reported second quarter revenue of $22.50 billion vs. $22.64 billion expected (per Bloomberg consensus), a 12% drop compared with the $25.05 billion reported a year ago. Tesla posted adjusted EPS of $0.40 vs $0.42, with operating income coming in at $923 million vs. $1.23 billion expected. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You Great Rates and Award-Winning Service The Insurance Savings You Expect Tesla's revenue from the sale of regulatory credits fell to $439 million from $890 million a year earlier, and will continue to drop following passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" (OBBB), the company said. Musk spent months blasting the bill, but Trump signed it into law earlier this month. Tesla stock slumped over 6% in premarket trading on Thursday, after starting to slide during the company's earnings call. CFO Vaibhav Taneja said on the call that the OBBB recently would affect Tesla's business, leading to a "pull forward" in sales ahead of the $7,500 tax credit expiring at the end of Q3. 'Given the abrupt change, we have limited supply of vehicles in the US this quarter,' Taneja said. 'We may not be able to guarantee delivery orders placed in the later part of August and beyond.' Taneja also said Tesla would ramp up volume production of an upcoming "affordable" model once the EV tax credit expired. Read more: Live coverage of corporate earnings A year ago, Tesla said in its Q2 earnings report that production remains on track for new vehicles, likely including a cheaper EV, in the first half of next year. There have been no indications or even renderings of a new vehicle, let alone production of a vehicle priced around $30,000. Tesla's cheapest EV is the rear-wheel-drive Model 3 sedan, which starts at around $43,000 without incentives. "We continue to expand our vehicle offering, including first builds of a more affordable model in June, with volume production planned for the second half of 2025," the company said in a statement. Tesla also said its purpose-built robotaxi was still scheduled for volume production starting in 2026. Tesla has expanded its robotaxi testing in Austin, Texas, with a bigger operating area and likely more vehicles coming. Musk said the company would expand testing to the San Francisco Bay Area, but reports suggest the applications for those state permits have not been submitted. Separately, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Tesla was in talks with Nevada officials to test the company's robotaxi service. Tesla's second quarter earnings report comes at a time when the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq (^IXIC) are surging to new highs, bucking Trump's tariff war that led to broad-based selling and fears of a global economic slowdown. Musk's reputational hit stemming from his political activities, the rise of more competition, and US consumer preferences for vehicles like hybrids have Tesla and the EV industry as a whole worried. For Tesla in particular, weakness in key regions like Europe has been an ongoing issue, and the latest registration data shows US sales sliding as well. This resulted in Tesla delivering only 384,122 vehicles globally in Q2, a 13.5% drop year over year. The changeover to the refreshed Model Y may have blunted sales. But the question for management is the availability picture for that new Model Y in Tesla's main selling regions. "It is difficult to measure the impacts of shifting global trade and fiscal policies on the automotive and energy supply chains, our cost structure and demand for durable goods and related services," Tesla said in its Q2 shareholder deck. "While we are making prudent investments that will set up both our vehicle and energy businesses for growth, the actual results will depend on a variety of factors, including the broader macroeconomic environment, the rate of acceleration of our autonomy efforts and production ramp at our factories." Pras Subramanian is the lead auto reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram. Sign in to access your portfolio

The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) Fell Due to Sluggish Food and Beverage Industry
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) Fell Due to Sluggish Food and Beverage Industry

Yahoo

time7 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) Fell Due to Sluggish Food and Beverage Industry

Longleaf Partners, managed by Southeastern Asset Management, released its 'Partners Fund' second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund returned 5.33% in the second quarter, compared to the S&P 500's 10.94% return and the Russell 1000 Value's 3.79% return. The firm's stock price performance was volatile, but its confidence in future returns grew as the quarter progressed. Since markets have recovered and portfolio holdings remain high-quality and discounted, the firm believes maintaining its current cautious stance, as reflected in the recent strong results during turbulent times, is prudent, despite not fully matching recent market highs. For more information on the fund's best picks in 2025, please check its top five holdings. In its second quarter 2025 investor letter, Longleaf Partners Fund highlighted stocks such as The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC). The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) manufactures and markets food and beverage products. The one-month return of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was 12.48%, and its shares lost 12.44% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 23, 2025, The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) stock closed at $28.94 per share, with a market capitalization of $34.252 billion. Longleaf Partners Fund stated the following regarding The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter: "The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) – Global food and beverage producer Kraft Heinz was a detractor for the quarter. Despite a sluggish food and beverage industry, the company's performance is underpinned by a quality mix shift towards premium offerings like Heinz, Philadelphia and Ore-Ida, among other power brands, that we believe the market is overlooking. There is also speculation that large shareholder Berkshire Hathway is considering decreasing its position, although we believe this situation is more nuanced. Further upside could materialize from the outcome of an ongoing strategic alternatives exploration." A closeup of an assembly line worker inspecting a newly produced jar of condiments and sauces. The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 46 hedge fund portfolios held The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) at the end of the first quarter, which was 43 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. In another article, we covered The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) and shared the list of best alternative meat stocks to invest in according to analysts. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store