NCAC has joined FIRE and other free expression organizations in filing an amicus brief in the case of Netchoice v. Fitch, a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Mississippi H.B. 1126 under the First Amendment. This statute requires social media platforms to verify the age of all users and forbids platforms to permit minors to create accounts unless they have obtained consent from a parent or guardian. Additionally, the platforms must develop strategies to prevent minors’ exposure to harmful material or other content that promotes topics such as self-harm, substance abuse, and online bullying. The lower court twice issued injunctions preventing enforcement of the law, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit paused the most recent injunction and allowed the law to go into effect. Netchoice has filed an emergency application at the Supreme Court requesting that the justices vacate the Fifth Circuit’s decision in order to reinstate the injunction. Our brief in support of Netchoice’s request argues that H.B. 1126 restricts speech based on its content and is thus subject to and fails under the highest level of judicial scrutiny. Additionally, the brief emphasizes that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton upheld a law that only requires age verification based on content that is obscene for minors, a constitutionally unprotected category of speech. In contrast, H.B. 1126 imposes restrictions on a much broader range of speech which the First Amendment does not permit the government to restrict for minors.
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