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Mississippi

Researchedlast verified 2026-07-04

Has regulations

HB 1126 (Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act) authored: currently enforceable after the Fifth Circuit stayed the district-court injunction (2025-07-17) and the Supreme Court declined to vacate the stay (2025-08-14); merits appeal pending. Coverage may be incomplete pending a full sweep of Mississippi minor-protection statutes.

Sources: Mississippi Legislature · Mississippi Legislature: HB 1126 (2024 R.S.) enrolled bill (PDF)

Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act (HB 1126) ↗

Enforceable pending appealResearchedlast verified 2026-07-04
Social media platform

Enjoined at its 2024-07-01 effective date; Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded (2025-04-17); district court re-enjoined (2025-06-18); Fifth Circuit stayed that injunction (2025-07-17) and the Supreme Court declined to vacate the stay (2025-08-14, Kavanaugh, J., concurring), so HB 1126 is enforceable pending the merits appeal.

Statute code-section pins (Miss. Code § 45-63 / § 75-24-5) are drawn from secondary reporting pending a pass against the enrolled text. The merits argument was held 2026-02-03; no Fifth Circuit ruling had issued as of 2026-07-04 (re-verified against the NetChoice case page and news coverage). Re-check for a decision at next verification.

Scope

Binds a 'digital service provider' whose service, in substantial part, lets users create accounts and socially interact.

Express exemptions
  • Exempts services where interactive functionality is incidental to another function such as commerce.

Penalties

Model
Per violation
Detail
Violations are unfair/deceptive trade practices under Miss. Code § 75-24-5; civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation, plus potential criminal penalties
Enforcer
Mississippi Attorney General
Private right of action
No

Key dates

Effective
2024-07-01

Obligations (3)

Parental consentUnder 1313–1516–17

Obtain verifiable consent from a parent or guardian before a known minor creates an account.

Statute’s own ages: Minor = under 18

Miss. Code § 45-63 (HB 1126, 2024 R.S.); section pin pending verification
Age verification / estimationUnder 1313–1516–17

Make commercially reasonable efforts to verify the age of account holders.

Statute’s own ages: Minor = under 18

Miss. Code § 45-63 (HB 1126, 2024 R.S.); section pin pending verification
DPIA / risk assessmentUnder 1313–1516–17

Develop and implement a strategy to prevent or mitigate a known minor's exposure to harmful material and covered harms.

Statute’s own ages: Minor = under 18

Miss. Code § 45-63 (HB 1126, 2024 R.S.); section pin pending verification

Litigation history

  1. 2024-07-01
    On the effective date, S.D. Miss. (Judge Halil Ozerden) granted NetChoice a preliminary injunction against HB 1126 in NetChoice v. Fitch
    → Unenforceable while the injunction stood source ↗
  2. 2025-04-17
    Fifth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction and remanded for the two-step facial-challenge analysis required by Moody v. NetChoice
    → Injunction lifted; law enforceable pending the remand proceedings source ↗
  3. 2025-06-18
    On remand, S.D. Miss. (Judge Ozerden) again preliminarily enjoined HB 1126, finding NetChoice likely to succeed on its as-applied challenge
    → Unenforceable while the second injunction stood source ↗
  4. 2025-07-17
    Fifth Circuit granted the State's motion to stay the second preliminary injunction pending appeal
    → Enforceable pending appeal source ↗
  5. 2025-08-14
    Supreme Court (shadow docket) denied NetChoice's application to vacate the Fifth Circuit's stay; Justice Kavanaugh concurred, noting NetChoice is likely to succeed on the merits
    → Stay left in place; law remains enforceable pending appeal source ↗
  6. 2026-02-03
    Merits appeal of the second injunction back before the Fifth Circuit
    → No change; law remains enforceable pending the Fifth Circuit's decision source ↗

Cross-state comparisons

  • similartx-hb18 (Texas): Both impose age verification and parental-consent-style duties on 'digital service providers' and were preliminarily enjoined as likely unconstitutional; HB 1126's injunction was stayed (enforceable), HB 18's remains in place.
  • similarfl-hb3 (Florida): Both require age determination and parental gating for minors and reached appellate stays that left the laws enforceable pending merits review.
Sources: Mississippi Legislature: HB 1126 (2024 R.S.) enrolled bill (PDF) · SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court leaves Mississippi HB 1126 in place (2025-08-14) · Bloomberg Law: Mississippi age-verification law blocked for second time (2025-06-18) · Biometric Update: NetChoice back in appeals court over Mississippi HB 1126 (2026-02)