Florida Governor,Ron desantis, signed a law awarded to his state one of the most stringent social networks in the United States to minors, although the law still faces expected legal challenges.
After taking effect, the bill signed on Monday will prohibit social networking accounts for children under 14 years old and require parents’ permission for children from 14 to 15 years old. This bill was slightly diluted compared to the proposal that Desantis has vetoed in early March, a week before the annual legislative session ended.
The new law is the leading legislative priority of the Chairman of the Republic of Republic of Paul Renner. The law takes effect on January 1.
Renner spoke at the signing ceremony of the bill held at a school in Jacksonville: “Children are in the brain development stage that is unable to realize that they are being caught up in these addictive technologies, nor can they see harm and stay away from them. Therefore, we have to enter for them.”
The bill that Desantis will prohibit minors under 16 years of age using common social media platforms regardless of parents’ consent. But before the veto, he gave the language compromise with Renner to alleviate the governor’s concern, and the legislature sent Desantis a second bill.
Some states have considered the same law. In Arkansas, a federal judge in August blocked the implementation of the law that required the consent of parents to minors to create a new social network account.
SupportersFloridaHopefully this bill will overcome legal challenges because it will prohibit social media formats based on addictive features such as alerts and automatic video broadcasts, instead of based on their content.
Renner said he hoped that social media companies would “sue immediately after this agreement was signed”.
“But you know anything? We will beat them,” Renner commented. “We will beat them and we will never stop, never stop.”
DeSantis also acknowledged the law will be challenged on free speech rights enshrined in the US constitution’s first amendment. He also bemoaned the fact the Stop Woke Act he signed into law two years ago was recentlystruck downby an appeals court with a majority of Republican-appointed judges. They ruled it violated free speech rights by banning private business from including discussions about racial inequality in employee training.
“Any time I see a bill, if I don’t think it’s constitutional, I veto it,” said DeSantis, a lawyer, expressing confidence that the social media ban will be upheld. “We not only satisfied me, but we also satisfied, I think, a fair application of the law and constitution.”
Khara Boender, a state policy director for the Computer & Communications Industry Association, said in a news release that she understood the concern for online safety but expressed doubt the law would “meaningfully achieve those goals without infringing on the first amendment rights of younger users”.
She also anticipated a legal challenge.
“This law could create substantial obstacles for young people seeking access to online information, a right afforded to all Americans regardless of age,” Bonder said.
The bill overwhelmingly passed both of Florida’s legislative chambers, with some Democrats joining a majority ofRepublicanswho supported the measure. Opponents argued it is unconstitutional and government should not interfere with decisions parents make with their children.
“This bill goes too far in taking away parents’ rights,” the Democratic state house representative Anna Eskamani said in a news release. “Instead of banning social media access, it would be better to ensure improved parental oversight tools, improved access to data to stop bad actors, alongside major investments in Florida’s mental health systems and programs.”
