JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi is adding another layer of protection for kids online. Gov. Tate Reeves has signed the Keeping Kids Safe Online Act into law.
Brian Montgomery lost his son, Walker, in a sextortion scheme. A law passed in Walker’s name in 2024 is still being challenged in court.
Montgomery said that the law was an action item for tech companies to make sure their products were safe. He views the latest legislation as something different.
“Versus this piece of legislation is really more about awareness. If you really were to put it all in a ball, in my opinion, it’s about requiring tech to be honest about their product,” Montgomery said.
Law focuses on awareness and accountability
Montgomery pointed to recent jury verdicts in New Mexico and California that found platforms, including Meta, liable for child-safety failures and addictive design.
He said this law works more like a warning label for parents and kids.
“I don’t expect it’s an overnight change. I think it’s a process, especially when you’re against this type of money in an industry,” Montgomery said.
Under the law, the Mississippi Department of Education must provide a digital safety curriculum for students in grades 6-12.
It also gives new legal tools to the attorney general, designed to allow the state to go after big tech companies that fail to warn parents and minors about harmful or addictive features.
“It is time, and it is beyond time, that we take affirmative steps to protect our children….These children and these parents don’t have lobbyists. They have us,” Rep. Joey Hood, the author of House Bill 1224, said.
The law also allows parents to sue, but only in limited situations. It would require repeated exposure to obscene content and harm to the child.
“We’re going to fight, and we’re going to fight, and we’re going to fight, and we’re asking legislators and state representatives and different people to get behind us on this, and they really have,” Montgomery said.
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office provided the following statement:
“General Fitch is grateful for the Legislature’s continued interest in prioritizing the mental and physical well-being of children in an increasingly dangerous online environment. It is one of the Attorney General’s key priorities, and we are in court both defending the Walker Montgomery Act and on offense, suing and investigating more than half a dozen of the biggest of Big Tech companies. In fact, in February, we were in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals defending the Walker Montgomery Act and in March, we were in state court against TikTok. In addition, earlier this month, we rolled out the latest resource to help parents and children navigate safely online – Tips for Online Gaming, which we developed with the Children’s Advocacy Centers. You can find that and the others we have created on our #BeAwareBeforeYouShare page, along with the heartbreaking interview with Walker Montgomery’s father.”
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