Mississippi
Mississippi has an adult content age verification law in effect since 2023, a social media parental consent law that survived a preliminary injunction fight and remains enforceable while a merits appeal is pending, and a 2026 online safety act, signed in April 2026, that treats addictive platform design features as a defective product. No dedicated app store age verification act has passed either chamber.
Subnational jurisdiction. Reviewed 2026-07-15.
SB 2346, Act to Regulate Pornographic Media Exposure to Children
Requires commercial entities that publish or distribute material harmful to minors, where a substantial portion (one third or more) of the site is such material, to perform reasonable age verification before granting access, using a commercial age verification system or transactional data method.
- Citation
- Miss. Code Ann. Title 11, Chapter 77, sections 11-77-1 to 11-77-7
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2023-07-01
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Verification methods
- gov id, transactional data, third party service
- Covered services
- Commercial websites where one third or more of content is material harmful to minors
- Penalties
- Civil liability to any individual for damages, including court costs and attorney fees
- Enforcement body
- Private civil action; no separate state regulator named in the civil liability chapter
- Private right of action
- yes
- Source
- Miss. Code Ann. Title 11, Chapter 77, sections 11-77-1 to 11-77-7
HB 1224, Mississippi Keeping Kids Safe Online Act
Requires parental consent before a minor under 18 can hold an account on an interactive computer service, bars platforms from knowingly exposing minors to material harmful to minors, and treats design features that make a service addictive to minors as a defective product for state product liability purposes. Signed April 8, 2026.
- Citation
- Miss. Code Ann. sections 11-79-1 to 11-79-7
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2026-07-01
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Verification methods
- self declaration, parental consent
- Covered services
- Interactive computer services accessible to minors
- Penalties
- Civil penalties up to 10,000 dollars per violation, injunctions, attorney fees, and a private right of action for repeated knowing violations
- Enforcement body
- Mississippi Attorney General
- Private right of action
- yes
- Source
- Miss. Code Ann. sections 11-79-1 to 11-79-7
HB 1126, Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act
Requires digital service providers that let users socially interact, create profiles, and post content to verify the age of all users and obtain express parental or guardian consent before a known minor (under 18) may hold an account, with default privacy protections for minor accounts.
- Citation
- Miss. Code Ann. sections 45-38-1 to 45-38-13
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2024-07-01
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Verification methods
- gov id, third party service, self declaration
- Covered services
- Digital services allowing social interaction, profile creation, and content posting or sharing
- Penalties
- Enforcement as an unfair and deceptive trade practice; civil penalties
- Enforcement body
- Mississippi Attorney General
- Private right of action
- no
- Litigation
- NetChoice v. Fitch, No. 1:24-cv-00170-HSO-BWR (S.D. Miss.); No. 25-60348 (previously No. 24-60341), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; related emergency application No. 25A97, Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, A federal district court granted NetChoice a preliminary injunction on July 1, 2024. The Fifth Circuit vacated that injunction on July 17, 2025, and the Supreme Court denied NetChoice's emergency application to restore it on August 14, 2025, so the law is currently enforceable. The Fifth Circuit heard oral argument on the merits of NetChoice v. Fitch on February 3, 2026, and has not yet ruled.
- Source
- Miss. Code Ann. sections 45-38-1 to 45-38-13
Reviewed 2026-07-15. Confidence: high. Fast-moving area, verify before relying. Not legal advice.