Oral Argument on Miss. Age-Verification Law Set for February
Oral argument in NetChoice v. Fitch (docket 25-60348) has been tentatively scheduled for the week of Feb. 2 at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
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The case centers on Mississippi's Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act (HB-1126), which requires parental consent for those younger than 18 to create accounts with certain digital service providers (see 2510100010).
NetChoice claims the law violates the First Amendment and poses privacy risks (see 2406070059 and 2406070059). Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R), however, said it's commercially reasonable and should be allowed to stand (see 2508010023).
The U.S. District Court for Southern Mississippi has twice enjoined the law (docket 1:24-cv-00170) on First Amendment grounds (see 2407010062 and 2506180051), but Fitch appealed the district court ruling in late June (see 2506200009). The 5th Circuit granted a stay of the statute without explanation in a one-page, 13-word order shortly after in July (see 2507170019).