TL;DR:
• Supreme Court declines to block Mississippi's social media age verification law
• Law requires platforms to verify all users' ages, block teens without parental permission
• Justice Kavanaugh says law is 'likely unconstitutional' but NetChoice failed to prove immediate harm
• Decision creates immediate compliance headaches for Meta, Google, Amazon, Reddit, and Discord
The Supreme Court just handed social media platforms their biggest regulatory setback in years, allowing Mississippi's sweeping age verification law to take effect immediately. The unsigned Thursday ruling affects Meta, Google, Amazon, and other tech giants, requiring them to verify users' ages and block teens without parental consent—even as Justice Brett Kavanaugh called the law 'likely unconstitutional.'
The Supreme Court just delivered a bombshell that will reshape how Americans access social media. In an unsigned emergency ruling Thursday, the justices declined to block Mississippi's HB 1126, a sweeping age verification law that forces platforms to verify every user's identity and block anyone under 18 without explicit parental consent.
The decision immediately puts Meta, Google, Amazon, Reddit, and Discord on the hook for potentially millions in compliance costs and technical overhauls. While the court offered no explanation for its decision, Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurring opinion delivered a mixed message that has both sides claiming victory.
"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," Kavanaugh wrote in the court filing. But he added that the tech industry trade group hadn't "sufficiently demonstrated" immediate irreparable harm.
NetChoice, which represents the industry's legal interests, had been riding high after winning similar battles across the country. The organization secured an injunction blocking the law last year, only to watch the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals . Now they're scrambling to implement age verification systems they've spent years fighting in court.