VOL. I · OCT. 17, 2026 ● NO. 07 ● FREE SPEECH & THE FIRST AMENDMENT
The North Star
“Right is of no Sex — Truth is of no Color.”
After Frederick Douglass, 1847
The free-speech desk — the First Amendment, censorship, and the right to be heard, tracked ruling by ruling across the fifty states.
Platform Speech
Fifth Circuit Revives Mississippi Social-Media Age-Check Law
The appeals court vacated an injunction against Mississippi's HB 1126, faulting the trial court for skipping the facial-challenge analysis the Supreme Court required in Moody v. NetChoice.
A smartphone displaying an age-verification prompt on a social media app, illustrating Mississippi's HB 1126 requirements. — AI-generated illustration
On April 17, 2025, the Fifth Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction that had blocked Mississippi's HB 1126, an age-verification and parental-consent law for online platforms. The court sent the case back for the rigorous analysis mandated by the Supreme Court's 2024 NetChoice ruling.
HB 1126 requires digital services to verify user ages, obtain parental consent for minors, and limit exposure to harmful content. NetChoice, representing major platforms, argued the law unconstitutionally burdens protected speech.
Rather than resolve the merits, the panel held that the district court had not identified which services the law actually covers or weighed its lawful applications against unlawful ones, the two-step inquiry demanded by Moody v. NetChoice. The court noted uncertainty over whether services like ride-hailing or mapping apps even fall within the statute.
The decision illustrates how Moody has reshaped challenges to state social-media laws, forcing courts to map a statute's full sweep before enjoining it. The dispute continued on remand and in emergency filings at the Supreme Court.
1126
House bill at issue
Pull quote
— Source
Video caption
How the case moved
2024
Mississippi enacts HB 1126; NetChoice sues and wins an injunction.
APR 2025
Fifth Circuit vacates the injunction and remands under Moody.
JUL 2025
NetChoice seeks emergency relief as litigation continues.
✓ Fact check
Claim
“The Supreme Court's NetChoice decision settled that social-media age laws are constitutional.”
Reality
Moody v. NetChoice set a demanding facial-challenge method but left the constitutionality of specific state laws to be worked out case by case.
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Legal References
Bluebook citation · cases, statutes & the record
Primary legal authority cited in this report. Links go to the public record where one exists.
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Academic References
ABA / law-review style · secondary scholarship
Secondary scholarship that informs the analysis.
[1]
Reference text
Author bio
Source: Justia
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