Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida approves ban on minors using social media, amidst pending legal battle.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has approved a bill with the goal of restricting children’s access to social media. The bill was signed at 02:27.
The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, signed a prominent bill on Monday with the intention to prevent children from using social media platforms, as the state gets ready for a legal battle against the tech industry.
Attorney General Ashley Moody declared during a bill-signing event in Jacksonville that she was determined to vigorously defend this in court.
In the current month, legislators voted in favor of the legislation (HB 3), which was strongly supported by House Speaker Paul Renner, a representative from Palm Coast. The legislation aims to restrict children under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts on select platforms. However, parents may grant permission for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 cannot create accounts.
Renner and other prominent advocates claim that social media networks have established habit-forming platforms that negatively impact the psychological well-being of children and can facilitate communication between sexual predators and underage individuals. However, adversaries such as tech-industry organizations contend that the bill violates the constitution and cite instances of similar laws being halted by courts in different states.
The industry group NetChoice this month urged DeSantis to veto the measure, arguing it would violate First Amendment rights. Spokeswoman Krista Chavez said in an email Monday that the group does not publicly discuss legal strategy, but it quickly recirculated the veto request and earlier statements about the constitutionality of the bill.
Per a statement by Carl Szabo, Vice President and General Counsel at NetChoice, a law that goes against the constitution will not provide any protection for citizens of Florida. He also noted that HB 3 is not a favorable policy due to the potential for online services to collect data on Floridians, putting their private information at risk of being compromised.
According to Renner, the legislation addresses the addictive elements of the platforms rather than the content on social media. This strategy is intended to hold up against any potential First Amendment challenges.
Attorney Renner stated that the bill does not include any language regarding speech quality, as this would conflict with the First Amendment. He clarified that the focus of the bill is on addressing the addictive features of social media platforms that cause children to spend extended periods of time on them.
The legislation does not specifically list the social media networks that would be impacted. However, it presents a definition of these platforms, based on certain elements such as algorithms, “addictive features,” and the ability for users to see the content and actions of others.
Attorney DeSantis previously rejected a previous version of the bill (HB 1) due to concerns about constitutional problems and perceived violation of parental rights. However, he worked with Renner to come to an agreement on the final plan that was enacted on Monday.
One major adjustment was that the updated plan would permit 14- and 15-year-olds to create accounts with approval from their parents. The previous version would have prohibited them from opening accounts without the option of parental consent.
In a different modification, the previous edition would have enforced age-verification prerequisites on platforms. These prerequisites would have impacted the registration process for adult users.
The revised proposal does not encompass the necessary conditions. Instead, advocates aim to guarantee adherence by allowing lawsuits against social media platforms for infringing on age restrictions. This would involve both lawsuits initiated by the attorney general and those filed in favor of underage individuals.
If the technology sector initiates legal proceedings, it would mark the second major legal battle against social media legislation in Florida in recent times.
Two industry organizations, NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, contested the legality of a new Florida law that imposed limitations on major social media companies. The law prohibited these platforms from banning political candidates and mandated that companies have consistent standards for actions such as banning users or blocking content.
Many federal courts have halted a large portion of the law due to violations of the First Amendment. The state of Florida brought the case to the higher U.S. Supreme Court, which heard the arguments last month, but has not yet made a decision.
At the bill-signing ceremony on Monday, Renner mentioned that he anticipates a lawsuit from NetChoice regarding the recently passed law, which will only be enforced starting from Jan. 1. However, Renner remains optimistic that the state will emerge victorious in court and highlighted the potential harm of social media to minors.
He stated that we cannot continue to stay neutral about this problem due to our understanding of it.
I am not able to reword.
Source: cbsnews.com