Florida House Passes Bill That Targets Children On Social Media
TALLAHASSEE - Citing the mental health of children and online sexual predators, the Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday approved legislation that would ban children under the age of 16 from having social media accounts .
The House voted 106-13 to approve the measure (HB 1), made a priority by House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast. The issue will go to the Senate because some in the tech industry say the bill is unconstitutional.
"This is about protecting children from addictive technologies that we know are harming them," Renner told council members after the vote. "What do social media platforms know? They've been doing it for years without taking any action. Today, we did it thanks to your voice."
Lawmakers say children are exposed to mental health problems due to things like bullying on social media. They say technology also makes children targets for sexual predators.
“The reality is that people are using these platforms to connect with our children. Rep. Kevin Chambliss, D-Homestead
Opponents have questioned the law's unconstitutionality, saying it infringes on parents' rights to decide whether their children use social media. 13 Democrats opposed the bill, while 23 Democrats joined Republicans.
Fort Lauderdale Rep. Daryl Campbell called the bill "a complete failure of government."
"Parents should be able to make the final decisions for their children," said MAMI spokeswoman Ashley Gantt. "I 100 percent agree with the position of the authors of the project on ensuring the protection of children. I agree 100 percent. But parents should not have the last word on how to raise their children."
The law prohibits minors under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts and requires social media platforms to close the accounts of under-16s who have "intelligent knowledge" of the platforms. This allows parents to apply for minors. The account will be closed.
The bill would require platforms to require third-party age verification agencies when creating new accounts and ban accounts for people who can't prove their age. Organizations must delete data after age verification.
NetChoice, the major companies and tech industry group behind platforms such as Meta, Facebook and Instagram, criticized the proposal last week and raised the possibility of legal action.
NetChoice said on its website that the bill had "constitutional flaws." Federal courts have struck down similar social media bans in other states.
"If passed, HB 1 would violate the First Amendment rights of minors by completely limiting their constitutionally protected speech to those under 16 or the law's age verification requirements," the industry group said. "HB 1's coverage of the Internet over books, television shows and video games does not change the First Amendment," he said.
But attorney Renner told reporters that the bill does not violate the First Amendment. The bill "addresses addictive technology, not energy," he said.
"That's why we're narrowing it down, because kids don't leave the scene, and so they're in an environment that's detrimental to their mental health," Renner said. .
The Senate version of the bill (SB 1788) did not begin committee consideration until the third week of the legislature's 60-day session.
Also Wednesday, the House unanimously approved another of Renner's priorities (HB 3), which would require age verification to prevent minors under the age of 18 from accessing pornographic images on the Internet.
The bill provides several rules for determining whether online content is harmful, such as "causing disturbing interest" and "not having literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors."