Federal Judge Upholds Injunction Against Mississippi Age-Verification Law

Allowing Mississippi to enforce its new age-verification law would cause irreparable harm in violation of the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled Monday in a victory for NetChoice (see 2407030076) (docket 1:24-cv-170-HSO-BWR). The tech association is suing to block HB-1126, which requires that platforms obtain parental consent for social media users younger than 18. The U.S. District Court for Southern Mississippi on July 1 granted NetChoice’s request for a preliminary injunction against HB-1126, finding the association is likely to succeed on the merits of its First Amendment challenge. District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden on Monday denied a request from Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) to stay the preliminary injunction. Ozerden cited previous findings stating that the plaintiff’s “loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury. ... For the same reasons it granted preliminary injunctive relief, the Court finds that the Attorney General is not likely to succeed on the merits of the appeal.”