Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday that bans children under 14 from accessing social media platforms and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. Supporters say the measure will protect children from online risks to their mental health.
The measure requires social media platforms to terminate the accounts of people under the age of 14 and those under the age of 16 without parental consent. Requires the use of third-party verification systems to screen minors.
In February, the state’s Republican-led Legislature passed a bill that would completely ban children under 16 from using social media. Republican DeSantis, I vetoed the bill. Earlier this month, it argued that parental rights would be restricted.
The revised version now allows parents to consent to their older children’s participation on social media platforms. The law will be enacted on July 1st.
“Social media harms children in many ways,” DeSantis said in a statement. He said the bill would “further increase the ability of parents to protect their children.”
Supporters said the bill would stop that problem. Negative effects of social media The well-being of children who overuse such platforms and may experience anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses as a result.
Critics say the bill violates First Amendment protections for free speech and that parents, not the government, should make decisions about online participation for children of all ages. .
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, opposed the bill, saying it would limit parental discretion and raise data privacy concerns by requiring users to provide personal information to verify their age.Mehta said he supports federal law Secure parental approval for downloads by children for online app stores.
The bill does not name specific social media platforms, but they would encourage “infinite scrolling,” display response metrics such as “likes,” include video autoplay features, and include live streaming and push It says that social media sites with notifications will be affected. This would exempt websites and apps whose primary function is email, messaging, or text message exchange between certain senders and recipients.
The measure would require social media companies to permanently delete personal information collected from suspended accounts and bring civil lawsuits against parents who fail to do so.
In March 2023, Utah will first state in the usa According to a legislative analysis prepared for Florida’s bill, other states including Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas have followed suit by adopting laws regulating children’s access to social media. Many other states are considering similar regulations, according to the analysis.
