A bill prohibiting children from accessing certain social media platforms was signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a March 25 press conference in Jacksonville.
The original legislation — passed with overwhelming support from Democrats and Republicans — aimed to restrict those 16 and younger from holding certain social media accounts. DeSantis vetoed that bill on March 1, citing the lack of parental power over allowing their kids on social media and the opportunity for Floridians to remain anonymous online.
A new bill proposed barring those younger than 14 from becoming a social media account holder. Language was also added to allow parents to decide whether their 14- and 15-year-olds can have a social media account. The new measure, House Bill 3, received House and Senate approval on March 6.
Under House Bill 3, social media companies will be forced to delete existing accounts of those who are under 14. Companies failing to comply could be hit with financial penalties up to $50,000 per violation, in addition to attorney fees and court costs. The bill aims to keep minors off social media platforms that allow them to upload or view content from other users, have addictive features like infinite scrolling, and use algorithms that analyze users’ data to select content for them. The bill doesn’t identify any specific social media companies.
DeSantis alluded to the threat of predators using social media to reach kids who are seemingly safe at home.
“You can do everything right, but they know how to manipulate these different platforms. It’s created huge problems,” DeSantis said.
Republican House Speaker Paul Renner said the bill is focused on the addiction associated with social media platforms and how that harms children, not the First Amendment right to speech. Renner said the bill addresses addictive features that give a dopamine hit to keep users online longer.
“Children are not set up to handle the addiction that some of us as adults had to face and step away from,” Renner said during the March 25 press conference. “Unlike an adult who can make an adult decision and say, ‘I drank too much last night, I need to drink less or stop drinking altogether’ … a child in their brain development doesn’t have the ability to know they’re being sucked into these addictive technologies and to see the harm and step away from that. Because of that, we have to step in and help them.”
The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2025, could face a legal battle. NetChoice, in a March 8 statement, said House Bill 3 is an “unconstitutional law that will protect exactly zero Floridians.” NetChoice is a trade association of online businesses that advocates for free expression and free enterprise on the internet. Association members include X (formerly Twitter), Google, Etsy and Pinterest, to name a few.
“HB 3 is also bad policy because of the data collection on Floridians by online services it will in effect require. This will put their private data at risk of breach,” said Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel for NetChoice.
Renner said the law will withstand scrutiny in the federal courts on First Amendment grounds because it zeroed in on addictive technology and not content.
