Bill that bans kids from social media progresses

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate on Thursday tweaked a bill aimed at keeping children under age 16 off social media, as a debate continued about the proposal’s constitutionality and whether it would infringe on parental rights.

The House overwhelmingly passed the initial version last month, and the newly revised version does not change the basic components. It would prevent children under 16 from creating accounts on at least some social-media platforms and require platforms to terminate existing accounts that they know or have “reason to believe” are held by minors younger than 16 without any input from their parents.

House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, has made the bill (HB 1) a priority, arguing that social media is harming the mental health of children.

The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Thursday approved changes supported by Renner, readying the bill to go to the full Senate.

“I believe that we have to do something to protect our kids,” Sen. Rosalind Osgood, D-Fort Lauderdale, said before the committee voted 12-5 to back the bill. “I believe we were wrong to just turn our kids over to social media.”

But opponents said courts have struck down similar laws passed in other states and that parents should decide whether their children use social media.

“It is not the Legislature’s job to parent the parents in how they parent,” said Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens.

Senate bill sponsor Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, said she didn’t know how many platforms could be affected by the proposal. But she said the bill is “content neutral” and focuses on the features of platforms.

“It is about the features,” Grall said. “It is the way the features are deployed to monetize our children and make them addicts.”

Tech industry organizations and First Amendment groups have fought the social-media restrictions, arguing that they would censor speech and be unconstitutional. Gov. Ron DeSantis also has raised concerns about the constitutionality of restrictions.

In addition, the bill has refueled discussions in the Legislature about parental rights, which Republicans have stressed on other issues.

Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, and Sen. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, voted for the bill Thursday but said they were struggling with the possibility of infringing on the rights of parents to make decisions. Collins said he was “very torn on this bill.”