The Florida House of Representatives has approved legislation that will prohibit anyone under the age of 16 in the state from maintaining accounts on certain social media platforms. The bill now goes to the desk of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
The legislation – Online Protections for Minors – will require some social media platforms to verify the age of account holders, prohibiting children under 16 from creating an account.
The approval in the House came just hours after the state Senate passed the legislation on Thursday morning (Feb. 22).
Governor Ron DeSantis commented on the bill.
“As much as I think it’s harmful to have people on these social media platforms five or six hours a day, a parent can supervise a child to make them use it more moderately,” he said at a press conference.
The governor added that he is working to ensure that parents have a role in the decision-making process about whether their children should have access to social media.
The description of the bill regarding the social media platforms that would fall under the requirements appears to be broad. The bill includes social media companies that allow users to upload content and companies that use algorithms to analyze data and have push alerts and continuous scrolling or autoplay video.
Even if Governor DeSantis signs the bill into law, a lot of water could still flow under this bridge as the controversial measure is likely to be challenged in court.
A federal judge temporarily blocked a similar law in Ohio earlier this month that sought to regulate children’s access to social media platforms, arguing that the law is unconstitutional. The Ohio legislation would require social media platforms to obtain parental consent before creating accounts for children under 16.
In light of growing claims that technology contributes to mental health harm, some states have promised crackdowns on social media but are facing legal barriers to enforce them.
Source: CNN