Thanks to a new law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, teens under 16 will lose their social media accounts come Jan. 1st.

Signed in March, months after the bill passed through the state House, the law bans children under 16 from using social media, although children who are 14 or 15 may bypass the restriction with explicit parental permission.

Florida House has approved a bill that would ban social media for any kids under 16 pic.twitter.com/geF8g3bBxl

— Pubity (@pubity) January 26, 2024

“The law does not name any specific platform but says it applies to any that promote ‘infinite scrolling,’ display reaction metrics such as likes and shares, feature auto-play videos and have live-streaming and push notifications,” according to Newsweek.

This means the major players like X and Facebook are all affected.

The law has sparked opposition, particularly from Democrats, but DeSantis is confident it won’t be overturned by legal challenge.

“Any time I see a bill, if I don’t think it’s constitutional, I veto it,” he reportedly said, explaining why. “We not only satisfied me, but we also satisfied, I think, a fair application of the law and Constitution.”

Democrats and their allies claim the bill is a violation of parental rights and even free speech rights.

“Though I agree more needs to be done in protecting our youth on social media, this bill goes too far in taking away parents’ rights and banning social media usage—and thus First Amendment Rights—for young Floridians,” state Rep Anna Eskamani said in March.

“Instead of banning social media access, it would be better to ensure improved parental oversight tools, improved access to data to stop bad actors, alongside major investments in Florida’s mental health systems and programs,” she added.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida agrees.

In a statement issued in March, ACLU Legislative Director Kara Gross argued that the law “raises significant constitutional concerns because it intrudes on the free speech rights of adults and minors.”

“The new law also prohibits minors under the age of 14 from having social media accounts even with the consent of their parents,” she said. “This is a complete disregard for parental rights. The government shouldn’t be controlling what ideas and information parents can allow their children to access.”

“This law is not narrowly tailored to achieve the stated interest of protecting youth from harm. If our lawmakers truly cared about the well-being of our children, they would be prioritizing expanding Medicaid access to struggling families, increasing school psychologists, ensuring access to affordable housing for families, and protecting families with minor children from facing eviction,” she added.

Banning all people under 14 from using social media is unconstitutional.

Florida politicians should be focusing on the needs of their constituents — not seeing how far they can go with extreme censorship efforts.https://t.co/SHLKJKKHVa

— ACLU of Florida (@ACLUFL) March 28, 2024

Among conservatives, many parents have split feelings about the law. On one hand, they appreciate that the law does protect children. But on the other hand, they worry about government intrusion into parental rights.

“The concept is good. I just see implementation very 1984,” one critic tweeted. “People will need ID. There will be ID thefts all over. Scammers and kids will find a way to obtain ID’s. I believe it is opening a can of worms, maybe better left up to parents.”

“That really should be up to the parents,” another conservative, this one a Trump supporter, tweeted. “We don’t need a nanny state here in Florida. Hopefully that will be overturned by the supreme court, as it is unconstitutional and an overreach of government.”

However, for virtually every critic, there’s an avid supporter.

Case in point:

So kids can be kids again? FANTASTIC

— RyanRipz The Left (@RyanRipzTheLeft) December 10, 2024

I like it. Make it 18 tho. No need for kids to be on there. Social media is a poison to society.

— Frank Bojazi (@FrankBojazi) March 25, 2024

It is not a bad thing. Kids that young don’t need to be exposed to social media, especially since a lot of kids have learned to get around parental controls.

— Katherine R (@beachgalkar) December 10, 2024

I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

And everything else aside, I think this will be VERY GOOD for Socialization. Kids need to have interaction in person, not online.

— c (@ari1237ana_) December 11, 2024

That’s the right move to ban kids from social media. However, parents should be doing their job and making that a rule in their household regardless.

Insane that this even needs to be enforced by the state.

— StopMakingSense (@StopNoticingIt) December 10, 2024

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Vivek Saxena

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Vivek@bizpacreview.com

V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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