Supreme Court Allows Mississippi’s Age Verification Law to Proceed Despite Constitutional Concerns
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Mississippi’s controversial social media age verification law can be implemented while legal arguments proceed, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh indicating the law is likely unconstitutional, reports 24brussels.
The decision came on August 14, 2025, as the Court denied an emergency petition by the trade association NetChoice to block the law. In a brief unsigned ruling, the Court provided no rationale but noted Kavanaugh’s concurrence, which expressed concerns regarding potential violations of the First Amendment.
Mississippi’s law, known as HB 1126, mandates social media platforms to verify the age of users creating accounts, with restrictions barring users under 18 from accessing the platforms unless permitted by a parent. The law also requires these platforms to safeguard minors from harmful content and limits data collection practices.
NetChoice, which counts major tech companies such as Meta, Google, and Amazon as members, asserts that such age verification laws infringe upon constitutional rights. After initially securing an injunction against the law, the Fifth Circuit Court lifted this block in April, allowing the statute to take effect despite Kavanaugh’s remarks that similar laws have faced scrutiny in other jurisdictions.
Kavanaugh noted, “To be clear, NetChoice has, in my view, demonstrated that it is likely to succeed on the merits — namely, that enforcement of the Mississippi law would likely violate its members’ First Amendment rights.” However, NetChoice remains optimistic about future litigation, with Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, stating, “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.” He characterized the ruling as a temporary procedural delay.
This ruling occurs amid a broader trend of lawmakers nationwide, as well as internationally, advocating for age verification laws aimed at protecting minors from unsafe online environments. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for adult content sites, potentially paving the way for similar regulations elsewhere. Concurrently, the UK has initiated stricter measures, enforcing a government ID or credit card requirement for age verification on certain websites.
Opinions on the implications of these laws vary, with Jennifer Huddleston of the Cato Institute remarking that such legislation poses significant challenges to privacy and free speech for both adult and teenage users. She cautioned that this ruling does not guarantee the law’s constitutional validity upon full review of the appeals process.
