Florida lawmakers pass bill to ban social media for anyone under 16
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[February 24, 2024]
By Gabriella Borter
(Reuters) -Florida's Republican-controlled legislature has passed
legislation that would ban anyone under age 16 from social media
platforms in a move that supporters have said would protect young people
from online risks to their mental health.
The measure, which goes to the desk of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis
after being passed by lawmakers on Thursday, would require social media
platforms to terminate the accounts of people under 16 and use a
third-party verification system to screen out those who are underage.
DeSantis, who last month expressed concern about the bill's potential
infringement on privacy rights, told reporters on Friday that he had yet
to review its final version. DeSantis said he believes social media is
harmful for children but that parents "could supervise" and he was wary
of a policy that would "overrule" parents.
"I think you've got to strike that proper balance when you're looking at
these things," DeSantis said.
The measure was passed by Florida House of Representatives in a vote of
108-7, just hours after the state Senate gave its final approval.
Supporters have said the legislation would stem the harmful effects of
social media on the well-being of children who use such platforms
excessively and may experience anxiety, depression and other mental
illnesses as a result.
Critics have said the bill violates the U.S. Constitution's First
Amendment protections for free speech and that parents, not the
government, should make decisions about the online presence of their
children.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has opposed the
legislation, saying it would limit parental discretion and raise data
privacy concerns because of the personal information users would have to
provide to be age-verified. Meta has said it supports federal
legislation for online app stores to secure parental approval for
downloads by people younger than 16.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign visit ahead
of the South Carolina presidential primary in Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina, U.S. January 20, 2024. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo
The bill does not name any specific social media platforms, but
states that its targets are social media sites that promote
"infinite scrolling," display reaction metrics such as likes,
feature auto-play videos and have live-streaming and push
notifications. It would exempt websites and apps whose main function
is email, messaging or texting between a particular sender and
recipient.
Florida House Speaker Paul Renner said lawmakers crafted the measure
to address potential concerns about possible privacy rights
violations.
"We've addressed constitutional concerns by narrowly focusing the
scope of the bill on the addictive features, added enhanced
anonymity provisions to the age verification process to protect user
data, and incorporated meaningful penalties to hold Big Tech
accountable," Renner, a Republican, posted on the social media
platform X on Thursday.
The bill would require social media companies to permanently delete
personal information collected from terminated accounts and let
parents bring civil lawsuits against those failing to do so.
Utah in March 2023 became the first U.S. state to adopt laws
regulating children's access to social media, followed by others
including Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas, according to a
legislative analysis prepared for the Florida bill. The analysis
said numerous other states were contemplating similar regulations.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Washington; Editing by Will
Dunham)
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