Florida Minors Under 14 Now Banned From Using Social Media Platforms

In Florida, children under 14 are no longer allowed to use social media after a new law took effect Wednesday. It will require social media sites to remove existing accounts of people under 14 within 90 days, or face fines of up to $50,000 for each violation.

The Sunshine State allows minors ages 14 and 15 to continue using social media, but only with parental consent.

House Bill 3, the “Online protections for minors“, had received overwhelming bipartisan support from state lawmakers, and Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, signed the bill last year. However, state Attorney General Ashley Moody, said she would delay enforcement of the law until the end of February, pending a ruling from the judge on a motion for a preliminary injunction.

Depending on the court’s ruling, social media companies could face significant challenges complying with the law.

“It is very possible that they will be implemented, although there will be several interesting variables to monitor as the process unfolds,” said Dr. Cliff Lampe, professor of information and associate dean of academic affairs at the University of Michigan.

It is unclear how many minors in Florida are currently on the various social media applications and, as a result, there may not be a simple solution to ensure compliance.

“In terms of the app, the easiest thing to do is to pressure the Apple and Android platforms to “deplatform” the app, then combine that with IP blocks so that the app become almost automatic,” suggested Lampe. “Socially, it will be interesting to see how people who actively use TikTok adapt and whether they protest their restricted options.”

Ban in Florida: does it go too far?

Supporters of the ban said it was necessary to protect children onlinebut opponents have countered that a complete ban goes too far. However, no common ground was found.

“We all want to protect our children, keep them safe, and avoid the harassment, bullying, and other forms of darkness that permeate social media these days. But is it realistic to ban minors from accessing the platforms of social media,” mused technology analyst Susan Schreiner of C4 Trends. . “Until now, safety has been the responsibility of children’s parents, but in an online world, what is the shared responsibility of platforms, or do they not care?”

Can we reasonably expect social media platforms to act responsibly and not hide behind their repeated “free speech” stance? So far at least, tech companies haven’t done enough to protect children online. Lawmakers are clear that more needs to be done and that if platforms fail to act, legislation will be needed to keep companies in line.

“We only need to consider the recent defeat of Child Safety Online Act in the United States, which had broad bipartisan support,” Schreiner said. “In the past, it was relatively easy to impose a tobacco ban on minors. It was relatively simple since it involved transferring something physical. »

The same is not true with social media, which exists in a digital environment.

Yet even after Florida’s law went into effect Wednesday — which now bans children under 14 from having social media accounts and limits 14- and 15-year-olds to accounts authorized by their parents — Social media companies cannot immediately kick out these children. their platforms.

The companies will probably still have their chance in court.

“Additionally, the Florida Attorney General agreed in November not to enforce the law while litigation is pending,” Schreiner explained. “In October, parties filed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s law, claiming that some states had ‘taken it upon themselves to restrict minors’ access to constitutionally protected speech.'”

If the ban stands, other states could follow suit, and it could ultimately change the way social media works in the future. This also comes as a nationwide ban on TikTok still looms.

“The United States has never banned a very popular app before, although there is a history of smaller individual sites being shut down for various reasons,” Lampe added. “Typically, people have adapted pretty quickly to these situations. If the issue is national security, it seems like there are more effective solutions than total lockdowns, but people are often looking for the most visibility in a solution.”