Why This US State Is Prohibiting Children’s Access to Social Media

Florida’s House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill aimed at barring children 16 and younger from accessing social media platforms, following similar measures in several states to limit online risks to young teens.

The measure, which passed in a bipartisan vote of 106-13, would require social media platforms to close the accounts of anyone under the age of 17 and use a third-party verification system to screen minors.

“We must address the harmful effects that social media platforms are having on the development and well-being of our children,” said Florida House Speaker Paul Renner.

“Florida has a compelling state interest and responsibility to protect our children, their mental health and their childhood.”

The bill would also require companies to permanently delete personal information collected from terminated accounts and allow parents to file lawsuits against those who fail to do so.

The bill now goes to the Florida State Senate for consideration. Republicans control both houses of the state legislature.

Sponsors said the measure was necessary to protect children from depression, anxiety and other mental health problems they say are linked to excessive use of social media, the addictive aspects of which critics say make children especially vulnerable.

Opponents argued the bill goes too far, with some calling for less restrictive measures, such as allowing parents to allow or deny their children access to social media.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, opposed the law, commonly referred to as HB1, saying it would limit parental discretion and create privacy concerns.

“HB 1 would require every new social media user, from a 13-year-old from Miami to a 73-year-old from Boca Raton, to provide potentially sensitive identification information such as a driver’s license or birth certificate to a third party organization to verify their age,” Meta’s Caulder Childs told the House Judiciary Committee at a Jan. 17 hearing.

Meta says it supports federal legislation on online app stores to ensure parental approval for downloads by teens under 16.

The Florida measure does not identify Internet companies by name.

Instead, it defines a social media platform as an online forum that monitors the activities of account holders by allowing them to create user profiles, then upload content or view and interact with or follow the content or activities of other users.

Defined functions of social media highlighted in the bill include “addictive, harmful or deceptive design features” or those that create an “excessive or compulsive need to use or participate in the platform.”

However, the measure excludes websites and apps whose primary function is email, messaging or text messaging, as well as streaming services, news, sports and entertainment sites, and e-commerce, gaming and academic sites.

Utah became the first US state to pass laws regulating children’s access to social media in March 2023, followed by other states including Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas, according to a legislative analysis prepared for the Florida law.

It said many other states are also considering similar regulations.

In 2015, the European Union passed a law requiring parental consent for a child to access social media, the analysis added.