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Samyarup Chowdhury
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The Supreme Court recently allowed Mississippi to temporarily enforce its social media age-verification law. BY: MEGA
The Supreme Court recently allowed Mississippi to temporarily enforce its social media age-verification law, turning down an emergency request from the tech industry group NetChoice to block the measure. While the brief, unsigned order carried no dissents, Knewz.com has learned that Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote separately that the law is likely unconstitutional under existing precedent.
What Justice Kavanaugh stated
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote separately that the law is likely unconstitutional under existing precedent. By: MEGA
โIn short, under this Courtโs case law as it currently stands, the Mississippi law is likely unconstitutional,โ Kavanaugh stated. โNonetheless, because NetChoice has not sufficiently demonstrated that the balance of harms and equities favors it at this time, I concur in the Courtโs denial of the application for interim relief.โ His concurrence suggested that while the Court would not intervene immediately, the underlying First Amendment challenge remains strong. He further stated, โTo be clear, NetChoice has, in my view, demonstrated that it is likely to succeed on the merits โ namely, that enforcement of the Mississippi law would likely violate its membersโ First Amendment rights under this Courtโs precedents.โ
The law in question
The law requires social media platforms to verify the ages of users before granting access. BY: Unsplash
The law, formally called the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act, requires social media platforms to verify the ages of users before granting access. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has defended the measure, arguing it addresses issues such as abuse, trafficking, physical violence, extortion and more, which she said are not protected by the First Amendment. The law had been blocked by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden in 2024, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that injunction in July, permitting enforcement while litigation continues. The Supreme Courtโs order maintains that status.
Industry reaction to the law
The ruling is a procedural setback for tech companies including Google, Meta and Snap, who are all members of NetChoice. BY: Unsplash
The ruling is a procedural setback for tech companies including Google, Meta and Snap, which are all members of NetChoice. The group has argued that Mississippiโs law imposes unconstitutional restrictions on speech and undermines user privacy. Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, called the decision โan unfortunate procedural delay.โ He said, โAlthough weโre disappointed with the Courtโs decision, Justice Kavanaughโs concurrence makes clear that NetChoice will ultimately succeed in defending the First Amendment โ not just in this case but across all NetChoiceโs ID-for-Speech lawsuits.โ
NetChoiceโs argument and Mississippiโs justification
In its emergency application to the Court, NetChoice argued the law would impose undue burdens on users and limit free expression. By: MEGA
In its emergency application to the Court, NetChoice argued the law would impose undue burdens on users and limit free expression. โThis law would stifle the internetโs promise of โrelatively unlimited, low-cost capacity for communication of all kinds,โ by requiring users to jump through substantial barriers to accessing speech that this Court โ not to mention numerous courts across the country โ have held unconstitutional in a variety of contexts,โ the group wrote. However, Mississippi Attorney General Fitch has defended the measure as a necessary safeguard. โThe Act requires what any responsible covered platform would already do: make โcommercially reasonableโ efforts to protect minors โ not perfect or cost-prohibitive efforts, but efforts of reasonable care based on a platformโs resources,โ Fitch and counsel wrote.
The post Kavanaugh calls Supreme Court-backed law in GOP state unconstitutional appeared first on Knewz.
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