Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday that prohibits children under the age of 14 from joining social media platforms within the state. It also means kids aged 14 or 15 will be required to obtain parental consent before accessing such platforms.
HB3, the bill signed by Governor DeSantis, mandates social media companies to remove existing accounts of children under 14. Failure to comply could result in lawsuits filed on behalf of the underage user, with potential damages of up to $10,000, as outlined in the legislation.
Companies found in breach of the law may face penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, in addition to covering attorney's fees and court expenses, according to NBC news.
"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. You could be doing everything right but they know how to get and manipulate these different platforms," DeSantis said as he signed the legislation.
"Ultimately, [we're] trying to help parents navigate this very difficult terrain that we have now with raising kids, and so I appreciate the work that's been put in," he added.
DeSantis had previously vetoed a stricter iteration of the bill, which proposed banning social media accounts for children under 16 and mandated Florida residents to submit identification or other verifying documents to join social media platforms.
HB3 is scheduled for implementation in January 2025.
Popular social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok typically enforce a minimum age requirement of 13 for users, in compliance with the 1998 "Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule" (COPPA), which prohibits the collection of personal data from children without parental consent.
However, according to The Washington Post, a survey conducted in 2022 by the nonprofit research organization Common Sense Media revealed an increasing trend in usage among children aged eight to 12.
Although the bill does not explicitly name the social media platforms impacted by the legislation, its language says it applies to sites where more than 10 percent of daily active users under 16 years old spend an average of two hours per day.
Platforms featuring "addictive features" like infinite scrolling and push alerts are also subject to the regulations outlined in the bill.
According to the state's House Speaker Paul Renner, these habit-forming characteristics are central to why children remain engaged on these platforms for extended periods, guiding them toward potentially harmful directions.
