JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A state regulation designed to implement online safeguards to shield your children has now become active. A family from Starkville claims they will continue to advocate for ongoing protections.
We first presented Brian Montgomery to you in the spring of 2023. That was four months following the tragic loss of his 16-year-old son, Walker, to suicide, which stemmed from a sextortion scam. His name is now featured in Mississippi’s legal statutes through the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act.
“I think that if this had been implemented before what happened to Walker, he would still be with us,” said Brian Montgomery, referring to the new law.
However, the law was temporarily halted while it went through the judicial process. This changed last week when a federal three-judge panel allowed it to go into effect.
It involves a dual transformation.
First, individuals under the age of majority will be required to obtain permission from their parents in order to establish accounts on social networking sites.
When you need to verify your age to do something, it makes you think more carefully and consider, ‘I probably need to take this more seriously.’ I believe this will be true for many parents,” Montgomery said. “I think it would have been the case for us.
Nevertheless, it is the other part that Montgomery believes is the most significant.
It mandates that technology companies make reasonable attempts to stop clearly identified harmful content from reaching children,” he explained. “All of these items they can block before they ever reach those accounts.
NetChoice is the organization that filed a lawsuit against the state, advocating for major technology companies such as Meta, X, and Google. They are now requesting the Supreme Court of the United States to pause the case.
Free speech is facing challenges, and NetChoice is standing up against it. Social media functions as the contemporary printing press, enabling all Americans to express their ideas and viewpoints. Until recently, Mississippi residents had the same opportunity, without government interference,” stated Paul Taske, Co-Director of the NetChoice Litigation Center. “However, Mississippi’s censorship system would change the current situation by requiring individuals to disclose their private, sensitive information just to access fully protected online speech. This constitutes a significant violation of the First Amendment. Additionally, its ambiguous wording poses a risk of suppressing various forms of protected educational, historical, political, and cultural content. Mississippi may believe it has the best understanding, but when it comes to free speech, the state cannot impose its views on individuals or families.
“Some privileges demand that we take specific actions because we are aware they pose risks to young people,” replied Montgomery.
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