FL Gov Expected to Sign Newly Passed Social Media Bill

With one lawmaker likening social media to a “dark alley,” the Florida House on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that seeks to keep children off social-media platforms.

The House voted 109-4 to approve the bill (HB 3), which passed the Senate on Monday. It will go to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it after vetoing an earlier version.

DeSantis

House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, made cracking down on social media perhaps the highest-profile issue of this year’s legislative session. He contends that social media use harms children’s mental health and can lead to sexual predators communicating with minors.

“This is something that I believe will save the current generation and generations to come if we’re successful,” Renner said after the bill passed.

Rep. Tyler Sirois, a Merritt Island Republican who helped sponsor the bill, said that if social media “is the new town square, then God help us.”

“For our children, social media is no town square,” Sirois said. “It is a dark alley.”

The bill, in part, would prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 could not open accounts.

Tech-industry and free-speech groups have already signaled that the bill is likely to face a First Amendment court challenge.