Florida on Monday grew to become the primary state to successfully bar residents below the age of 14 from holding accounts on companies like TikTok and Instagram, enacting a strict social media invoice that’s more likely to upend the lives of many younger individuals.
The landmark regulation, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is the one of many extra restrictive measures {that a} state has enacted up to now in an escalating nationwide push to insulate younger individuals from potential psychological well being and security dangers on social media platforms. The statute each prohibits sure social networks from giving accounts to kids below 14 and requires the companies to terminate accounts {that a} platform knew or believed belonged to underage customers.
It additionally requires the platforms to acquire a father or mother’s permission earlier than giving accounts to 14- and 15-year-olds.
In a press convention on Monday, Mr. DeSantis hailed the measure, saying it should assist mother and father navigate “tough terrain” on-line. He added that “being buried” in units all day lengthy was not one of the best ways to develop up.
“Social media harms kids in quite a lot of methods,” Mr. DeSantis mentioned in an announcement. The brand new invoice “offers mother and father a higher means to guard their kids”
Mr. DeSantis had vetoed a earlier invoice that may have banned social media accounts for 14- and 15-year-olds even with parental consent. The governor mentioned the sooner invoice would impinge on mother and father’ rights to make choices about their kids’s on-line actions.
