5th Circuit Rules Miss. Age-Verification Law Can Go Into Effect While Appeal Pends
A Mississippi law requiring parental consent for those younger than 18 to create accounts with certain digital service providers will go into effect for now, despite pending litigation against it.
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The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday granted a stay of Mississippi's age-verfication measure HB-1126 in a one-page, 13-word order that offered no explanation for the ruling.
The U.S. District Court for Southern Mississippi enjoined HB-1126 last month for being too broad to survive a First Amendment challenge in NetChoice vs. Fitch (see 2506180051).
Industry group NetChoice, which requested the court to block what it called "censorship law" HB-1126, is “considering all available options” following Thursday's ruling. In a release, Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, promised the group would "continue to fight against this egregious infringement on access to fully protected speech online. Parents -- not the government -- should determine what is right for their families” (see 2507140054).
In an email to Privacy Daily, a spokesperson for Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch's (R) office said it's "pleased with the court’s decision" and "looks forward to full consideration in this case."
Fitch vowed to fight for the "commonsense law" when she appealed the district court’s decision (see 2506200009). She also noted in a July 2 court document that the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton affirms age-verification measures.