NetChoice sued Mississippi over its HB 1126 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to keep online communications and speech safe and free, as well as to ensure parents—not big government—are in the driver’s seat of their families.
While well-intentioned, HB 1126 is an unconstitutional overreach into citizens’ rights that courts will likely block. As NetChoice has seen in other states, mandating age verification and parental consent for digital services violates privacy and stifles the free exchange of ideas. Mississippi requires websites to block broad protected speech categories, forcing online businesses to censor speech broadly with vague, unclear compliance standards.
Further, by forcing all websites to identify users, every digital service in Mississippi will need to collect more data and information on their users, including children.
This law also contains a unique provision with broad content moderation parameters that may result in the censorship of vast amounts of speech online. If the law goes into effect, some examples could include: The U.S. Declaration of Independence, Sherlock Holmes, The Goonies, the movie series starring Nicholas Cage, National Treasure, Taylor Swift’s new album and much more.
Parents and guardians, not politicians, should be in charge of their children’s online experience.
Read NetChoice’s initial complaint, filed June 7, 2024, here.
Our Team
Chris Marchese – Director of Litigation
Paul Taske – Associate Director of Litigation
Carl Szabo – Vice President & General Counsel
NetChoice Complaint, filed June 7, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
NetChoice Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, filed June 7, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.