Mississippi is the latest state sued by tech group over age verification on websites
A tech industry group says a new Mississippi law requiring users of websites and other digital services to verify their age will unconstitutionally limit access to online speech for minors and adults
JACKSON, Miss. — A new Mississippi law requiring users of websites and other digital services to verify their age will unconstitutionally limit access to online speech for minors and adults, a tech industry group says in a lawsuit filed Friday.
Legislators said the new law is designed to protect children from sexually explicit material. The measure passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate without opposition from either party. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed it April 30, and it is set to become law July 1.
The lawsuit challenging the new Mississippi law was filed in federal court in Jackson by NetChoice, whose members include Google, which owns YouTube; Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat; and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
NetChoice has persuaded judges to block similar laws in other states, including Arkansas, California and Ohio.
The Mississippi law “mandates that minors and adults alike verify their ages — which may include handing over personal information or identification that many are unwilling or unable to provide — as a precondition to access and engage in protected speech,” the lawsuit says. “Such requirements abridge the freedom of speech and thus violate the First Amendment.”
The lawsuit also says the Mississippi law would replace websites' voluntary content-moderation efforts with state-mandated censorship.
“Furthermore, the broad, subjective, and vague categories of speech that the Act requires websites to monitor and censor could reach everything from classic literature,
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