Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approved legislation Monday prohibiting minors under the age of 14 from using social media and mandating 14-and-15-year-olds obtain parental consent before logging on.
The new law, House Bill 3, compels social media firms to scrap existing accounts for children and permits parents to request their child’s account be terminated.
“Social media harms children in a variety of ways,” DeSantis said in a statement. “HB 3 gives parents a greater ability to protect their children. Thank you to [Florida House] Speaker [Paul] Renner for delivering this landmark legislation.”
To verify the age of users, the law — which takes effect Jan. 1, 2025 — will require social media companies to keep users’ personal information anonymous and protected.
The legislation also features carveouts for email and other messaging programs.
“The internet has become a dark alley for our children where predators target them and dangerous social media leads to higher rates of depression, self-harm, and even suicide,” Renner, a Republican said in a statement.
The measure was pared back slightly from a similar bill that would have barred minors under 16 from social media, which DeSantis veoted.
The law is likely to face a legal challenge similar to those lodged against other states that have passed social media regulations.
In Arkansas, for example, a judge halted a law mandating parental consent for children to create new social media profiles.
Companies such as Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, have publicly opposed the Florida legislation.
“It used to be, ‘Well, if they’re out somewhere, maybe they’re not supervised, maybe some predator can strike,’” DeSantis said during a bill signing event.
“Now, with things like social media and all this, you can have a kid in the house — safe, seemingly — and then you have predators that can get right in there — into your own home.”
