Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vetoed what would have been one of the broadest social media bans for minors, and lawmakers are proposing new language that seeks to keep children under 14 away from the platforms they create dependence.
The bill sent to the governor last week would have banned children under 16 from accessing popular social media platforms regardless of parental consent. DeSantis was concerned about privacy issues and parental rights, but appears to agree with a new proposal that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds to access social media with parental consent and ban access to younger children.
“The Legislature is going to produce a different and better bill,” DeSantis said in his veto message. “Protecting children from the harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents’ rights and maintaining adults’ ability to engage in anonymous speech.”
He said he plans to sign the new bill, which will be introduced in the Senate on Monday, just days before the legislative session ends on March 8.
Lawmakers expected the veto and worked with DeSantis on the compromise. The issue is a top priority for Republican House Speaker Paul Renner, who believes social media is causing psychological harm to children.
“My personal opinion is that we should get to 18. That’s bad. It’s poison,” Renner said. “Their business model is addiction causing harm to children for profit. This is not good.”
But Renner expressed optimism after the veto and said the new proposal was an improvement over the original bill and would have broader public support.
“It’s a good compromise product,” he said. “It will have a better chance of going through the courts.”
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.
Supporters in Florida hope the bill will withstand legal challenges because it would ban social media formats based on addictive features like notification alerts and autoplay videos, rather than the content of their sites.