Florida bans social media for children under age of 14

Florida governor Ron DeSantis yesterday signed a bill that bans children aged under 14 from social media platforms and requires 14- and 15-year-olds to get parental consent, a measure supporters say will protect them from online risks to their mental health.

The measure requires social media platforms to terminate the accounts of people under 14 and those of people under 16 who do not have parental consent. It requires them to use a third-party verification system to screen out those who are underage.

The bill allows for parents to provide consent for older children to engage on social media platforms. It will become law on July 1.

Supporters have said the legislation will stem the harmful effects of social media on the wellbeing of children who use such platforms excessively and may experience anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses as a result.

Critics have said the bill violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for free speech and that parents, not the government, should make decisions about the online presence of their children of all ages.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, opposed the legislation, saying it would limit parental discretion and raise data privacy concerns because of the personal information users would have to provide to be age-verified. Meta has said it supports federal legislation for online app stores to secure parental approval for downloads by children.

The measure requires social media companies to permanently delete personal information collected from terminated accounts and let parents bring civil lawsuits against those failing to do so.

In March 2023, Utah became the first US state to adopt laws regulating children’s access to social media, followed by others including Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas.

Numerous other states are contemplating similar regulations.