GULFPORT, Miss. ( WJTV ) – A company seeks to block enforcement of a law requiring age verification and other measures on certain websites.

NetChoice filed a lawsuit in early June to stop House Bill 1126 from going into effect on Monday, July 1. HB 1126, also known as the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act , would mandate digital service providers to require users to register their age. For those under 18, it would require minors to have parental permission before they could use their services.

The law defines digital services as a website, application, program or software that collects or processes personal identifying information with Internet connectivity. The law intends to limit children’s access to harmful material online and reduce the chance of harassment and exploitation.

HB 1126 is named after a child who killed himself because of a social media sextortion scheme. Separate legislation established the crime of sexual extortion in Mississippi this year. It is set to go into effect Monday.

NetChoice represents the interests of several companies that will likely be impacted by HB 1126. They include Meta Platforms, Google, Amazon and more. Chris Marchese, Director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, argues that the law is counterproductive and improperly attempts to resolve the issue it seeks to address.

“Unconstitutional laws are never the answer, let alone laws that jeopardize Mississippians’ privacy and security, and violate their online speech rights,” Marchese said.

A statement from Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s (R-Miss.) office painted a contrasting view of NetChoice’s argument. It asserted that the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act serves the public interest by narrowly targeting particular types of harmful content online.

“Granting any relief to NetChoice -particularly the sweeping facial relief that it seeks- would allow predators to continue terrorizing children,” Fitch’s office said.

NetChoice said in a press release that courts blocked similar laws in California, Ohio and Arkansas. Marchese is confident that a similar result will occur in Mississippi.

“Parents—not politicians—should be making decisions about what’s best for their family,” Marchese said.

A federal court in Gulfport heard oral arguments from NetChoice and the state of Mississippi Wednesday. The Attorney General’s office told WJTV 12 News that District Judge Sul Ozerden will reveal whether HB 1126 will go into effect on Monday.

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