Woodhull Files Amicus Brief in Mississippi Social Media AV Case

JACKSON, Miss.—The Woodhull Freedom Foundation, LGBT Tech, the Chamber of Progress, and the Coalition for Responsible Home Education filed an amicus brief in support of NetChoice, a trade group representing large technology companies, in a federal lawsuit filed by the group against the state of Mississippi. AVN previously reported on the case of NetChoice v. Fitch, which is currently on appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. NetChoice managed to secure a preliminary injunction enjoining the state from enforcing the social media age verification law, House Bill (HB) 1126, also called the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act.  HB 1126 regulates all digital service providers and social media networks by requiring minors to have parental permission to use the services. The statute was adopted by the state legislature earlier this year and signed into law by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. The Republican Party also controls the Mississippi state legislature. Despite the intent, NetChoice was able to tell the federal district court that it violates the First Amendment and doesn't protect minors, per its presentation by the sponsor. The judge found the law potentially unconstitutional and issued the preliminary injunction. Counsel representing the office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch appealed the preliminary injunction to the notoriously conservative Fifth Circuit. "If permitted to take effect, Mississippi’s HB 1126 would unconstitutionally curtail access to these essential fora, impairing both young people’s and adults’ First Amendment rights to speak and receive information," argues Woodhull and the other organizations in the amicus brief in support of NetChoice. The amicus brief adds, "Absent explicit parental consent communicated to a platform, young Mississippians would need to wait until their 18th birthdays to access vast amounts of information and opportunities for expression that are available to their same-age or younger peers in other states and countries." Woodhull and its fellow organizations also cited ongoing litigation in the case of Free Speech Coalition et al v. Paxton which is currently pending at the U.S. Supreme Court. Since the Fifth Circuit applied rational review in that case, which is a much lower standard than the oft-required strict scrutiny for First Amendment cases, Woodhull added in the brief that this ruling related to the Free Speech Coalition case is "inapposite," or simply put, inappropriate and out of place. "As a result, under laws like HB 1126, social media providers may be forced to block access for everyone in one or more of the conflicting jurisdictions (or all of them)," reads the amicus brief. "[Mississippians] ... would face significant, and for some insurmountable, obstacles to sharing their news, creations, and views with the rest of the world." NetChoice, which represents companies like Google and Meta, also recently won a significant case at the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in that case that content moderation regulatory statutes in Florida and Texas violated the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.  Other stakeholders in Woodhull's amicus class include the Chamber of Progress. The chamber is also a trade group that represents Google and Meta. LGBT Tech is a civil society organization that advocates for safe places online for LGBTQ+ people. The Coalition for Responsible Home Education promotes evidence-based and regulated homeschooling experiences for minors across the United States, no matter their sexuality and gender identities.