WASHINGTON—NetChoice, a trade group representing the mainstream digital industry, filed an emergency application on Monday with the conservative-dominated U.S. Supreme Court asking for a limit on Mississippi's social media age verification law. The case is NetChoice v. Fitch.
Characterizing the age verification statute, House Bill (HB) 1126, as an "I.D.-for-Speech" law, NetChoice is asking the Supreme Court to reinstate a preliminary injunction against the law that was initially issued by a federal district court that found it potentially in violation of the First Amendment.
NetChoice sued Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a far-right Republican, arguing before a federal judge that age verification is unconstitutional. The judge issued a preliminary injunction barring Fitch's office from enforcing the age verification requirements in order to access social media.
However, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the preliminary injunction, ultimately permitting HB 1126's enforcement.
This order was issued on July 17. The NetChoice filing to the Supreme Court seeks to overturn the Fifth Circuit decision to temporarily block the law so litigation can advance before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
"Free speech is under attack, and NetChoice is fighting back," said Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, in a press statement announcing the filing.
"Social media is the modern printing press—it allows all Americans to share their thoughts and perspectives," he said. "But Mississippi’s censorship regime would upend the status quo by forcing people to provide their sensitive, personal information just to access fully protected speech online. That is a massive First Amendment violation"
Note that NetChoice represents the parent companies of platforms like X, Instagram and Reddit. In context, these platforms are often used for digital marketing by adult content creators, producers and studios of all shapes and sizes.
The likelihood of a positive ruling for NetChoice and its member companies is still up in the air at this point. However, the high court ruled last month for the state of Texas in the case Free Speech Coalition et al. v. Paxton, which challenged the constitutionality of age verification targeting adult platforms in the state.
