Florida would be subject to one of the nation's most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it faces expected legal challenges — under a bill signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday.
The bill would ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for children between 15 and 16 years old. It was slightly watered down from the proposal that DeSantis vetoed earlier this month, a week before the end of the annual legislative session.
The new law was Republican House Speaker Paul Reiner's top legislative priority. It goes into effect on January 1.
“A child in their developing brain doesn't have the ability to know that they've been drawn into these addictive technologies and to see the harm and walk away from it, and that's why we have to intervene on their behalf,” Renner said at a bill signing ceremony held at a Jacksonville school.
The bill DeSantis vetoed would have banned minors under the age of 16 from using popular social media platforms regardless of parental consent. But before vetoing, he reached compromise language with Renner to alleviate the governor's concerns and the Legislature sent DeSantis a second bill.
Several states have considered similar legislation. In Arkansas, a federal judge in August blocked enforcement of a law requiring parental consent to create new social media accounts for minors.
Supporters in Florida hope the bill will face legal challenges because it would ban social media formats based on addictive features like notification alerts and auto-playing videos, rather than their content.
Renner said he expects social media companies “to sue the other party after signing this.” But did you know? We're going to beat them. “We will defeat them and we will never stop.”
DeSantis also acknowledged that the law would be challenged on First Amendment grounds, and lamented the fact that the “Stop Woke Act” he signed into law two years ago was recently struck down by an appeals court by a majority of Republican-appointed judges. They ruled that it violated free speech rights by prohibiting private companies from including discussions of racial inequality in employee training.
“Any time I see a bill, if I don't think it's constitutional, I veto it,” said DeSantis, the attorney, expressing confidence in supporting the ban on social media. “Not only did we satisfy me, but we also satisfied, I think, the fair application of the law and the Constitution.”
The bill was approved overwhelmingly in both chambers of the Florida Legislature, with some Democrats joining the majority of Republicans who supported the measure. Opponents said it was unconstitutional and the government should not interfere in the decisions parents make with their children.
“This bill goes too far in depriving parents of their rights,” Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani said in a press release. “Instead of blocking access to social media, it would be better to ensure better parental controls, better access to data to stop bad actors, along with significant investments in mental health systems and programs in Florida.”
