Florida will have one of the country's most restrictive social media bans for minors—if it withstands expected legal challenges—under a bill signed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday. The bill, HB3, will ban social media accounts for children under 14. Those who are 14 or 15 will need a parent's consent, reports NBC News. It was slightly watered down from a proposal DeSantis vetoed earlier this month, a week before the annual legislative session ended. The new law was Republican Speaker Paul Renner's top legislative priority. It takes effect Jan. 1.
The bill DeSantis vetoed would have banned minors under 16 from popular social media platforms regardless of parental consent. But before the veto, he worked out compromise language with Renner to alleviate the governor's concerns and the Legislature sent DeSantis a second bill, the AP reports. Several states have considered similar legislation. In Arkansas, a federal judge blocked enforcement of a law in August that required parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts. Supporters in Florida hope the bill will withstand legal challenges because it would ban social media formats based on addictive features such as notification alerts and auto-play videos, rather than on their content.
We're "trying to help parents navigate this very difficult terrain that we have now with raising kids, and so I appreciate the work that's been put in," DeSantis said at the bill-signing ceremony, per NBC. The bill orders social media companies to delete the existing profiles of users under 14. (More social media stories.)
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