Florida on Monday became the first state to effectively bar residents under the age of 14 from holding accounts on services like TikTok and Instagram, enacting a strict social media bill that is likely to upend the lives of many young people.
The landmark law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is one of the more restrictive measures that a state has enacted so far in an escalating nationwide push to insulate young people from potential mental health and safety risks on social media platforms. The statute both prohibits certain social networks from giving accounts to children under 14 and requires the services to terminate accounts that a platform knew or believed belonged to underage users.
It also requires the platforms to obtain a parent’s permission before giving accounts to 14- and 15-year-olds.
In a press conference on Monday, Mr. DeSantis hailed the measure, saying it will help parents navigate “difficult terrain” online. He added that “being buried” in devices all day long was not the best way to grow up.
“Social media harms children in a variety of ways,” Mr. DeSantis said in a statement. The new bill “gives parents a greater ability to protect their children”
Mr. DeSantis had vetoed a previous bill that would have banned social media accounts for 14- and 15-year-olds even with parental consent. The governor said the earlier bill would impinge on parents’ rights to make decisions about their children’s online activities.
The new Florida measure is almost certain to face constitutional challenges over young people’s rights to freely seek information and companies’ rights to distribute information.
@RightsChamoisWorking Family2mos2MO
As a parents with teenagers, being the bad guy by limiting their social media has been a path to exhaustion and constant bickering (at least in my home).
So having the government back me up and do the obvious and sensible thing will give me, as a parent, more reinforcement when not giving my kids social media until 16. Frankly, I’m going to try and limit it until they are 18.
The ability to point to the government backing me up, ideally rooted in research and mental health gives me a shot at framing the long term effects of social media like other impactful products/technologies - there’s positives and negatives so take your time.
Government action isn’t the solution to everything, or most things for that matter, but limiting social media is definitely an obvious one and will result in healthier kids.
@RoadrunnerZoeDemocrat2mos2MO
How do you manage other screen time for your kids, like movies/gaming etc.?
@RightsChamoisWorking Family2mos2MO
TV is ok if the content is age appropriate. Games are equivalent to social media and verboten except for a few windows during weekends.
So porn consumption is fine, but tiktok is where the lines are drawn?
@RightsChamoisWorking Family2mos2MO
@StorkAmeliaLibertarian2mos2MO
I get it. On principle I opposed indoor smoking band in early 2000’s, but man it was nice to not STINK after a night out. The stench of clothing.
@RightsJimLibertarian2mos2MO
While I agree social media has been net-negative for most and government scapegoating would probably decrease household arguments on this topic, the question worth asking is something like: Who is a better arbiter of what's best for my family - my spouse and I, or the government?
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO