March 2 (UPI) — A proposed Florida law banning social media use by youth under age 16 has been vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who says he instead favors a less-restrictive alternative measure.
DeSantis on Friday vetoed House Bill 1, which would have banned anyone under age 16 from having one or more social media accounts, even if a youth’s parents approved of the accounts and supervised their use.
The proposed law also would have required social media providers to use third-party age verification to reasonably assure underage youth weren’t creating accounts.
DeSantis and conservative activist group Moms for Liberty voiced concerns that an outright ban would violate parental rights and instead favored a less-restrictive approach to regulating social media use by Florida adolescents.
The governor vetoed House Bill 1 in favor of what he calls a “superior bill” that Florida lawmakers introduced Friday.
“Protecting children from harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents’ rights and maintaining the ability of adults to engage in anonymous speech,” DeSantis said in a statement.
The state’s lawmakers instead have a week to work on a proposed law, House Bill 3, that would enable teens who are 14 and 15 years old to open social media accounts after obtaining parental permission.
The alternative measure would enable parental control and impose stronger penalties on social media companies that disregard the law. It requires social media publishers to initiate a reasonable process for age verification and prohibits them from retaining information that identifies account holders.
Violations would be prosecuted under Florida’s Deceptive & Unfair Trade Practices Act and enable parents of victimized youth to initiate civil proceedings against social media services providers for any harm done to their children.
Social media use by children has raised concerns and spurred investigations and lawsuits at the state and federal levels regarding harm caused to children using platforms. The alleged harms include poor performance in school, mental health issues and suicide.
