US Supreme Court Upholds Mississippi State Law Requiring Social Media Age Verification

On August 14, the United States Supreme Court refused to intervene in the State of Mississippi’s case upholding a lower court’s decision to allow age verification before using nine social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Brought by the internet trade group NetChoice, SCOTUS issued a single concurring statement from Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing, "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."

Much of the argument centers on First Amendment Free Speech Clause. In June, the Supreme Court upheld a Texas state law requiring similar verification for sexually explicit materials. Justice Clarence Thomas held that requiring adults to confirm their age prior to using pornographic sites did not violate that clause, saying the condition is meant to protect "children from sexually explicit content." The Mississippi law is broader, demanding all users show their age. The law also requires websites to have parental consent for underage use and that the social media companies must prevent minors from accessing “harmful materials.” NetChoice sued claiming the law was unconstitutional, claiming the "monitoring-and-censorship requirements for vague categories of speech," would restrict other sources of information not related to explicit materials. NetChoice sued claiming “immediate, irreparable” damages from the legislation and that it denied the rights of state’s citizens to access protected speech through social media.

“Although we’re disappointed with the Court’s decision, Justice Kavanaugh’s concurrence makes clear that NetChoice will ultimately succeed in defending the First Amendment — not just in this case but across all NetChoice’s ID-for-Speech lawsuits," said Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center.