Global Courant
Florida’s new social media ban on minors, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, could be one of the strictest in the country. The law bans social media accounts for children under 14 and requires parental consent for 15 and 16 year olds. The new law is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2025.
Florida will have one of the nation’s most restrictive social media bans on minors — if it can withstand expected legal challenges — under a bill signed Monday by Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
The bill bans social media accounts for children under 14 and requires parental consent for 15- and 16-year-olds. It was watered down somewhat after a proposal vetoed by DeSantis earlier this month, a week before the annual legislative session ended.
The new law was Republican Chairman Paul Renner’s top legislative priority. It will come into effect on January 1.
FLORIDA Senate passes bill to ban social media for children under 16
The bill vetoed by DeSantis would have banned minors under the age of 16 from popular social media platforms, regardless of parental consent. But before the veto, he worked out compromise language with Renner to address the governor’s concerns, and the Legislature sent DeSantis a second bill.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting on November 19, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Florida will have one of the nation’s most restrictive social media bans on minors under a bill signed Monday by Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Several states have considered similar legislation. In Arkansas, a federal judge in August blocked enforcement of a law that required parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.
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Advocates in Florida hope the bill will withstand legal challenges because it would ban social media formats that rely on addictive features like notification alerts and autoplay videos, rather than their content.
