United States of America: Supreme Court denied NetChoice's application to lift a stay allowing Mississippi Protecting Children Online Act (HB 1126) to remain enforceable

On 14 August 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States denied NetChoice's application to lift a stay, allowing the Mississippi Protecting Children Online Act (HB 1126) to remain enforceable during ongoing litigation. In a concurring opinion, Justice Kavanaugh noted that NetChoice was likely to succeed on the merits, citing Moody v NetChoice, Brown v Entertainment Merchants Association, and Free Speech Coalition v Paxton, but had not shown that the balance of harms and equities justified interim relief. He also noted that the District Court had enjoined enforcement of HB 1126 on 18 June 2025, and that seven other federal district courts had issued similar injunctions against comparable state laws. NetChoice lawsuit alleged that the Act imposes content-based restrictions on protected speech through age-verification requirements, parental consent obligations for minors, and content monitoring mandates. NetChoice argued these provisions violate the First Amendment by restricting access to lawful expression without satisfying strict or intermediate scrutiny, and that compliance would cause irreparable harm through suppression of speech and disproportionate regulatory costs. NetChoice sought to reinstate the district court’s preliminary injunction to preserve the status quo pending appellate review.