Florida bans social media for children under 14 as of 2025. Here’s what happens next
New social media law would go into effect Jan. 1, 2025
Tallahassee Democrat | By C. A. Bridges | March 25, 2024
Key Points
- Revised social media bill would allow 14- and 15-year-old children to have social media accounts with permission from parents or guardians
- Bill also requires sites with adult content to use age verification systems or face massive fines
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 3 Monday so, as of next year, no one in the state of Florida under 14 will be permitted to have a social media account.
DeSantis previously vetoed a bill that would have banned social media for minors younger than 16 that passed in the 2024 Florida Legislative session, but not because he disagreed with the idea. He thought parents should have more of a say and expressed concerns the legislation wouldn’t survive a court challenge.
“Parents need to have a role in this,” the governor said in February after the Senate passed the bill. “I do think parents are concerned about social media and what goes on there, and I do think they think it’s a problem. But I also think that for people that are in high school, it’s not as simple.”
The House passed HB 1 hours later anyway but after the governor asked for changes and vetoed the first bill, a previous, similar bill (CS/HB 3) was revived by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples and adapted into what House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast called a “product of compromise” and “even better.” Renner saw keeping children off social media as a top priority and was previously strongly against parental exceptions.
Here’s what happens next.
What does Florida’s HB 3 social media bill do?
HB 3, Online Protections for Minors, would:
- Prohibit any child under 14 years of age from creating an account on a social media platform
- Require parental permission for social media accounts for minors 14 or 15 years of age
- Require social media platforms to terminate any accounts held by someone 14 or 15 years old unless a parent or guardian has provided consent, with a 90 appeal period
- Require social media platforms to use third-party age verification methods on new accounts
- Allow minors younger than 14 or their parent or guardian to request account termination, to be performed within 10 business days
The bill also specifies that personal information used in age verification may not be stored, and allows actions to be brought against social media platforms that violate the bill which may also include civil penalties up to $50,000 per violation.
In a separate section, the bill requires any website with “materials harmful to minors” such as sexual content that is visible in Florida to age verification to prevent access by anyone under 18 years old.
Will the Florida social media bill affect Facebook? X? Instagram? TikTok?
Good question. The legislators refused to list specific sites during discussions of the bill.
Practically every online site or service requires users to create an account, and most of them have some sort of social aspect to them. According to the bill, social media platforms affected by this bill would be any online forum where:
- Users can upload content or view the content or activity of other users
- 10% or more of the daily active users who are younger than 16 spend an average of two hours a day or longer
- the site uses algorithms to analyze user data or user information and select what users will see
- Any of the following “addictive features” are used:
- Infinite scrolling (content that continuously loads without the need to move to refresh or move to a new page
- Push notifications or alerts about specific activities or events related to the user
- Displays of user likes, shared or reposted metrics
- Video that plays without users clicking on it
- Livestreaming
That description would seem to include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and any of the Twitter replacements that have come up such as Bluesky and Mastodon.
Sites that are used exclusively for email or direct messaging limited to sender and recipients are not considered social media for the purposes of the bill.
I’m under 16. Will my social media account be deleted?
If the social media site has reason to believe you are younger than 14 and have an account, they will be required to terminate it and delete all personal information. You’ll have 90 days to dispute it.
If you are 14 or 15, your account will be terminated unless your parent or guardian provides consent, again with 90 days to challenge the termination.
The 2023 U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health found that nearly 95% of youth aged 13 to 17 use a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use it “almost constantly.”
What are the penalties for social media services that do not comply with the Florida social media law?
Sites that “knowingly or recklessly” violate the law will be liable for civil penalties up to $50,000 per violation, plus attorney fees and court costs. Punitive damages may be levied for persistent violations.
Sites that do not terminate accounts after being requested to do so by the minor or a parent or guardian may be liable for up to $10,000 in damages plus attorney fees and court costs.
Adult sites that do not use an age verification method can be fined up to $50,000 per violation, plus attorney fees and court costs. If the age verification service itself violates the law, it may also be fined up to $50,000 per violation.
If an adult site fails to keep a minor off the site, it can be liable to the minor for up to $10,000 plus attorney fees and court costs.
Will the Florida social media bill affect infant or child accounts run by parents or guardians?
It is unclear whether parent-run sites will be affected by the new law.
What’s different between the Florida social media bills HB 1 and HB 3?
HB 1, the one that DeSantis vetoed, would have prevented anyone under 16 from having a social media account. It also included an exhaustive list of all the types of sites that would not be affected. It would have taken effect July 1, 2024.
HB 3 is more streamlined and allows children 14 and 15 years of age to have accounts with consent from a parent or legal guardian. It would go into effect next year.
The new bill also goes into much more detail on subpoenas used in investigations of noncompliance, where subpoenas may be issued, how the state will punish people or organizations that do not comply with subpoenas, and what someone may be charged for noncompliance (not more than $5,000 per week, plus attorney fees and costs).
Will Florida’s social media law be challenged in court?
Almost certainly.
Other states such as Ohio, Arkansas, Utah and California have attempted to limit social media access for minors but nearly all have been blocked or delayed due to lawsuits challenging them for constitutionality and First Amendment vioations.
If passed and signed, when would Florida’s social media law go into effect?
If the social media bill becomes law it would take effect Jan 1, 2025.
