Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis has signed legislation restricting minors’ access to social media platforms.
The bill prohibits children under the age of 14 from opening social media accounts, but 14 and 15-year-olds can do so with parental consent.
DeSantis said in a statement on Monday after signing the bill,
“Social media harms children in a variety of ways.”
“HB 3 gives parents a greater ability to protect their children. Thank you to Speaker Renner for delivering this landmark legislation.”
The law also protects state residents from remaining anonymous on the internet.
Furthermore, the bill requires age verification on pornographic or sexually explicit websites to prevent minors from accessing them.
Paul Renner, house speaker, said,
“The internet has become a dark alley for our children where predators target them and dangerous social media leads to higher rates of depression, self-harm, and even suicide.”
“I am proud of the work of all our bill sponsors, Representatives Tyler Sirois, Fiona McFarland, Michele Rayner, Chase Tramont, and Toby Overdorf for delivering a legislative framework that prioritizes keeping our children safe.
“Thanks to Governor DeSantis’ signature, Florida leads the way in protecting children online as states across the country fight to address these dangers.”
Earlier this month, the US House of Representatives passed legislation to prohibit TikTok unless the app parted ways with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
Lawmakers claimed that the video-sharing app is a national security threat.
