Mississippi AG Appeals Injunction on Social Media Age-Verification Law to 5th Circuit
Following the district court preliminarily enjoining a Mississippi social media age-verification law for the second time Wednesday, Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) appealed the decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. District Court for Southern Mississippi ruled that the law was too broad to survive a First Amendment challenge, though the AG's office said it would fight for the “commonsense” law (see 2506180051).
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Fitch also requested that the court issue a stay, because "the harm to the State from enjoining the Act’s enforcement substantially outweighs any harm to NetChoice members from complying with the Act." Additionally, "this Court’s injunction cannot be squared with the Act’s targeted scope, with its focus on (and regulation of) nonexpressive conduct of covered online platforms, or with precedent on facial challenges," Fitch said.
The law in question, HB-1126, requires parental consent for minors younger than 18 to create accounts with covered digital service providers. NetChoice, the plaintiffs in case 24-00170, said it places undue burden on access to constitutionally protected speech (see 2406070059). HB-1126 had previously been enjoined by the district court in July 2024 because the court found that NetChoice had a high likelihood to succeed on its claims (see 2407010062). However, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the first preliminary injunction against the law in April, citing the ruling in Moody v. NetChoice (see 2504180013).