On August 14, 2025, the United States Supreme Court allowed Mississippi’s Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act to take effect while lawsuits proceed. The law, House Bill 1126, requires anyone under 18 to have a parent’s or guardian’s permission before creating a social media account. It also mandates age verification and limits on what kind of data companies can collect from minors.
The measure applies to online services where users create profiles and share content with others, but it does not cover online news outlets, streaming platforms, or games that lack a primary social networking function. Platforms must take “commercially reasonable” steps to confirm a user’s age, secure parental consent for minors, and stop collecting certain information such as location data or targeted advertising profiles for children.
The Court’s Decision
In NetChoice v. Fitch, the trade group representing platforms like Meta, Google, and TikTok asked the courts to block the law. After a lower court initially sided with them, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed enforcement to go forward. You can read the Court’s order and coverage of the decision here and here.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a separate opinion that the law is “likely unconstitutional,” but also concluded that NetChoice “has not sufficiently demonstrated that the balance of harms and equities favors it at this time.” His remarks suggest the Court may take a closer look at the law’s constitutionality later, but for now Mississippi can enforce it.
Support, Criticism, and Possible Effects on Schools
Supporters, including Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, view the law as a needed safeguard for young people. They point to rising rates of online exploitation, harassment, and exposure to harmful content. By putting more responsibility on platforms, the law shifts some of the burden away from parents who may not always have the tools or time to monitor every interaction their children have online.
Critics argue that the law restricts the free speech rights of minors and could require the collection of sensitive personal data, creating new privacy risks. Some digital rights advocates also warn that the rules may unintentionally block minors from reaching educational resources or online support groups.
Beyond the home, there is speculation the law could indirectly make life easier for schools. Social media disputes often spill over into classrooms, taking up administrators’ time and disrupting lessons. By limiting the ease with which minors can create accounts without oversight, some educators believe there could be fewer online conflicts, cyberbullying incidents, or late-night messaging dramas that surface during the school day. While it will not eliminate those challenges entirely, tighter controls may reduce the frequency and severity of such problems.
How are Meta, X, and TikTok Responding?
So far, major platforms have not announced immediate, Mississippi-specific changes that require parental consent for new accounts held by minors. Companies such as Meta, X, and TikTok appear to be monitoring the situation and the legal proceedings.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, has introduced broader safety features for teens in recent months. These include requiring parental approval for certain actions like using Instagram Live or unblurring sensitive images in direct messages, as well as default privacy settings and time limits for teen accounts. TikTok has also rolled out additional parental controls and time restrictions for minors, though these are global changes rather than state-specific measures.
At this point, no platform has publicly stated that it will implement a dedicated parental-consent process solely to comply with Mississippi’s law. Behind the scenes, companies may be developing compliance plans if enforcement moves forward without further court intervention.
Looking Ahead
Mississippi’s approach mirrors laws passed in Utah, Arkansas, and Louisiana, many of which have been challenged in court. Because the Supreme Court allowed this one to take effect, it will serve as a closely watched test case for how far states can go in regulating minors’ online activity. While no single measure will solve the problems of youth and social media, this law gives parents more say in their children’s digital lives and pressures companies to make those spaces safer. In an environment that changes faster than any household can keep up with, giving families a stronger voice is both reasonable and necessary.
