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Florida insists on parental approval for minors to engage in social media, strictly prohibiting children below 14
Florida's Governor, Ron DeSantis, has enacted a new legislation forbidding children below 14 years from participating in social media networks. Furthermore, teens aged 14 and 15 are required to obtain parental permission when setting up or utilizing social media networks.
Florida might soon mandate parents' approval for their children's involvement in social media platforms. Governor Ron DeSantis has ratified House Bill 3 (HB 3), establishing strict rules for the use of social media platforms by minors.
Additionally, the law that becomes operational from January 1, bans children below the age of 14 from using or accessing social media platforms in any form.
HB 3 stipulates that 14 and 15-year-olds need the approval of a parent or guardian to set up or operate social media accounts. Social media firms are legally bound to remove these accounts within a five-day period if requested, with potential fines of up to $10,000 for each infringement.
If a business is discovered to have deliberately or carelessly broken the law, the penalties can increase to $50,000 for each occurrence.
The legislation doesn't specifically mention any platforms, but it does include those that offer infinite scrolling, displaying response metrics, live-streaming, and automatic video play. Email platforms, however, are not subject to these rules.
Moreover, HB 3 includes a feature for verifying the age of users for websites or applications that are seen to have a substantial amount of content that could be damaging to individuals under the age of 18. Individuals in Florida who use such websites, such as those with adult material, are required to confirm their age using either proprietary or third-party systems. Nevertheless, this rule does not apply to news organizations.
Websites can alleviate privacy worries by using a "confidential age check" system that stops the storage of personal data. Non-compliance with this requirement could lead to civil fines of $50,000 for each violation.
This law comes after DeSantis rejected a comparable bill earlier in the month that didn't include provisions for parental approval. The trade association NetChoice, which represents social media platforms, has condemned HB 3 as being against the constitution. They argue that the element of age verification in the bill could potentially jeopardize privacy and security.
Paul Renner, the Republican Speaker of the House, stressed the importance of the legislation, pointing out the vulnerability of young people to addictive technologies. Renner expects legal opposition from social media firms, while DeSantis recognizes the possibility of issues related to the First Amendment.
Though Florida isn't the pioneer in legislating the use of social media by youngsters, comparable laws in Arkansas and California have encountered legal hurdles. Concurrently, at the national level, the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act suggests necessitating parental approval for users below 18 years old, within wider debates that may involve prohibiting platforms such as TikTok.
(Incorporating information from various sources)
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