DeSantis Signs Bill Prohibiting Social Media for Under 14s

TL/DR –

Florida has enacted a law preventing children under 14 from having accounts on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, the first state in the US to do so. The legislation, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, also mandates that social media platforms seek parental consent before granting accounts to 14- and 15-year-olds. The move comes as part of a broader push to mitigate potential mental health and safety risks associated with social media use among young people, but it is expected to face constitutional challenges over rights to information access.

Florida Enacts Strict Social Media Bill, Bars Under-14s From TikTok, Instagram

Florida recently became the first state to prevent residents under 14 from holding accounts on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. This groundbreaking legislation is part of a larger, nationwide effort to protect young people from potential mental health and safety risks associated with social media.

The law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, prohibits social networks from providing accounts to children under 14. It also mandates these platforms to terminate accounts suspected of belonging to underage users. Furthermore, the law insists on parental permission before opening accounts for 14 and 15-year-olds.

At a press conference, DeSantis praised the law for aiding parents in navigating the online landscape. He expressed concern over the harmful effects of excessive screen time on children’s growth. “Social media harms children in multiple ways,” DeSantis stated, adding that the new law enables parents to better safeguard their children online.

DeSantis previously vetoed a bill banning social media accounts for 14 and 15-year-olds, even with parental consent. He argued that it infringed on parents’ rights to regulate their children’s online activities.

This stringent Florida measure is likely to face constitutional challenges considering the potential infringement of children’s rights to information and corporations’ distribution rights. Recently, federal judges halted less restrictive online safety laws in other states due to freedom of speech concerns, following lawsuits filed by NetChoice, a trade group that represents tech giants like Meta, Snap, and TikTok.

In Ohio and Arkansas, laws requiring social networks to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent before creating accounts for children under 16 or 18 have been blocked. Similarly, a California law requiring specific privacy settings for minors was halted.

New Florida Law Also Targets Online Pornography Services

Alongside social media age restrictions, the new Florida law mandates online pornography services to employ age-verification systems to deter minors. Social media apps like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram already prohibit under-13s, aligning with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires parental consent for the collection of personal data from under-13s.

Despite these measures, state regulators report that millions of underage children have bypassed these restrictions by providing false birth dates when signing up for social media accounts.

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