Supreme Court upholds MS law to regulate social media. Here’s what that means for you
The United States Supreme Court has denied a trade group’s request to block enforcement of a Mississippi law meant to regulate children’s use of social media.
The “Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act” was passed in 2024, and challenged in a 2024 lawsuit by NetChoice, a trade association advocating for free enterprise and expression on the internet.
While the court upheld the law for now, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a concurring opinion that the law “is likely unconstitutional,” but NetChoice didn’t have a sufficient reason for the law to be blocked during its lawsuit.
Here’s what to know about the law.
What does the Mississippi social media law do?
Created to protect children from access to harmful material online, HB 1126, also known as the “Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act” does the following:
- Requires social media users to register their age
- Limits the collection and use of children’s personal information
- Requires social digital services providers to come up with and implement strategies to prevent harm to children
The law also amends sections of the Mississippi Code of 1972 to make a violation of the law enforceable by the office of the attorney general and include morphed, explicit images of children in the crime of child exploitation.
Who was Walker Montgomery?
The social media law was named after Walker Montgomery, a sophomore student at Starkville Academy, who died by suicide Dec. 1, 2022 after a sextortion threat over social media, according to reports.
Walker was remembered as “a dedicated, hard worker and a great friend who had a fun-loving sense of humor,” in an online obituary.
His father, Brian Montgomery, has since been active in sharing Walker’s story and advocating for child social media regulations, according to his Facebook page.
Why did NetChoice challenge the law?
NetChoice said the law is too vague and thus violates First Amendment rights and creates a “cybersecurity nightmare,” according to a July news release.
“Social media is the modern printing press — it allows all Americans to share their thoughts and perspectives. And, until now, Mississippians could do the same free from government interference,” Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center said in the release.
The trade group filed a complaint in July 2024. About a year later, the group filed an emergency application asking Supreme Court justices to reinstate a preliminary injunction after it was lifted by a circuit court this summer.
What other states have similar laws?
As of April, 12 other states had either passed or proposed similar legislation. Here’s a list of those states, according to Investopedia:
- Connecticut
- Louisiana
- Texas
- Maryland
- Utah
- Tennessee
- Florida
- Georgia
- Minnesota
- Arkansas
- Ohio
- California
