Mississippi bars misleading online safety claims about services for children

Covered online services cannot knowingly mislead children or parents about safety, hide harmful effects, or fail to warn about those effects. The rules cover services used or likely to be used by children under 18 that have features encouraging more use. They apply to children using or trying to use the service while in Mississippi. Exemptions cover internet connection providers, email, phone and text services, online stores, and certain paid video streaming services. Genuine news and public-interest reports are exempt. Search engines and cloud services are not responsible solely for connecting users to services outside their control. These rules took effect July 1, 2026.

Mississippi’s attorney general may sue to stop violations and seek penalties. Parents or legal guardians may sue on a child’s behalf for qualifying harm. The sexual material must meet all three tests: it appeals to sexual interests under community standards, depicts sexual content offensively for minors, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. Both routes require a knowing and willful violation. The attorney general must find that suing serves the public interest. A family’s lawsuit requires the violation to directly cause repeated exposure to the defined sexual material. Families may recover compensation and legal expenses. Extra damages may be awarded for reckless disregard. The law lists a possible $10,000 penalty per instance, but uses conflicting section references. Collections are split between consumer protection work and the education duties. These enforcement rules took effect July 1, 2026.

The Mississippi Department of Education must publish an internet safety guide and prepare and offer social media safety lessons for grades 6–12. The guide serves students, families, and caregivers. The lessons cover safe online behavior, mental health risks, and reporting suspicious behavior. The department and school districts must post lesson materials online. Districts must tell parents they are available, and parents can opt their children out of instruction. The department must update the guide and lessons periodically. The general guide does not itself require public schools to teach it. These education duties took effect July 1, 2026.

The Mississippi Department of Education and public school districts must block students’ social media access through district internet and adopt internet safety policies. These rules cover students using internet access provided by their public school district. A teacher may expressly direct social media use solely for educational purposes. Policies must limit access to age-appropriate material, protect students’ online communications, and block unlawful online activity. Policies must block websites, apps, and software that do not protect students’ personal information against disclosure, use, or sharing. These school internet requirements took effect July 1, 2026.