US Supreme Court allows Mississippi social media age verification law to take effect
Justice Kavanaugh says Mississippi’s law 'likely unconstitutional' but agreed to deny relief as NetChoice hadn’t shown ‘balance of harms and equities’ favored blocking it
WASHINGTON
The US Supreme Court refused Thursday to block Mississippi from enforcing a law that imposes age verification on social media platforms, denying an emergency request from internet trade group NetChoice.
"I concur in the Court’s denial of NetChoice’s application for interim relief because NetChoice has not sufficiently demonstrated that the balance of harms and equities favors it at this time," Justice Brett Kavanaugh said in an emergency ruling.
But he added that the group "has…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 the court’s precedents.
"In short, under this Court’s case law as it currently stands, the Mississippi law is likely unconstitutional. 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," he concluded.
The law requires platforms to confirm users’ ages and obtain parental consent for minors, with violators facing fines of up to $10,000.
NetChoice argues that it infringes on free speech, while Mississippi says it imposes “modest duties” to protect children from predators.
