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Florida mandates parental approval for children's social media usage, fully prohibits those below 14
Florida's Governor, Ron DeSantis, has approved a new legislation that fundamentally prohibits children below 14 years old from accessing social media platforms. Additionally, individuals aged 14 and 15 must obtain parental permission when setting up or using social media platforms.
The American state of Florida might soon necessitate parental approval for children to join social media networks. Governor Ron DeSantis has enacted House Bill 3 (HB 3), which imposes strict rules on the usage of social media platforms by minors.
Additionally, the law, which becomes enforceable from the first day of January, completely bans the use of social media by children who are younger than 14 years old.
HB 3 mandates that individuals who are 14 or 15 years old need to get approval from their parents or guardians to set up or use social media accounts. If requested, social media firms are required to remove these accounts within a period of five working days. Non-compliance can result in fines of up to $10,000 for each infringement.
Firms that are discovered to have intentionally or carelessly broken the law get fined up to $50,000 for each occurrence.
The legislation doesn't explicitly mention specific platforms but includes those with characteristics such as endless scrolling, response measurement displays, live broadcasts, and auto-playing videos. Email platforms, however, are not subject to these rules.
Furthermore, HB 3 includes a feature that requires age confirmation for websites or applications considered to have a substantial amount of content that could be detrimental to users below 18 years of age. For Floridians wishing to access such websites, which may include adult content, they are required to confirm their age using either proprietary or third-party systems. Nonetheless, this requirement does not apply to news outlets.
Websites can choose to use a system that verifies the age of users without keeping any personal data to tackle privacy issues. Non-compliance with this rule may lead to a fine of $50,000 per occurrence.
This law comes after DeSantis rejected a comparable bill earlier in the month which did not include clauses for parental approval. NetChoice, a business group representing social media companies, has condemned HB 3 as being against the constitution. They argue that its requirement for age verification could threaten privacy and security.
Paul Renner, the Republican Speaker of the House, stressed the importance of the law, highlighting worries about young people's vulnerability to addictive tech. Renner expects legal pushback from social media firms, while DeSantis recognizes the possibility of clashes over First Amendment rights.
Though Florida isn't the pioneer in enforcing rules on the social media usage of minors, comparable legislations in Arkansas and California have encountered legal hurdles. Concurrently, at the national level, the Act for Safeguarding Children on Social Media suggests the mandatory approval from parents for users below 18 years of age, within the larger debate that includes possible prohibitions on platforms such as TikTok.
(Incorporating information from various sources)
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