Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature on perhaps the highest-profile bill of the 2024 legislative session means many teens in Florida could be prohibited from opening social media accounts starting next year — but legal challenges are sure to follow.
Lawmakers this month overwhelmingly passed the bill (HB 3), fulfilling a major priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast. DeSantis signed the measure Monday.
The bill, in part, seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts on at least some platforms — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 could not open accounts.
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DeSantis in the waning days of the session vetoed an earlier version of the bill that did not include the parental opt-in provision. The previous version also would have required age-verification for platforms, which would have affected adults creating accounts.
Despite the changes, the House speaker said the new law stands to protect youths from what he has described as addictive features and other aspects of social-media that he argues are harmful to mental health. Renner, who was among many to predict legal challenges to the measure, said he expects it to withstand First Amendment challenges.
“You will not find a line in this bill that addresses good speech or bad speech because that would violate the First Amendment. We’ve not addressed that at all,” Renner, an attorney, said. “What we have addressed is the addictive features that are at the heart of why children stay on these platforms for hours and hours on end.”
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The industry group NetChoice this month urged DeSantis to veto the revamped 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.
“An unconstitutional law will protect exactly zero Floridians,” Carl Szabo, NetChoice’s vice president and general counsel,” said in a statement. “HB 3 is also bad policy because of the data collection on Floridians by online services it will in effect require. This will put their private data at risk of breach.”
Meanwhile, the state’s top attorney signaled that she will be ready to rumble when and if the measure is challenged in court.
“You better believe, I am going to fight like hell to uphold this in court,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said during Monday’s bill-signing event in Jacksonville.
The bill is slated to take effect Jan. 1.
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