ORLANDO, Fla. – A bill banning social media for Florida children under 16 will be heard in the Florida Senate, according to the chamber’s president.
State Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Senate President, said Thursday said she fully supported the bill, HB 1, and it would be heard in committee, though she couldn’t guarantee changes would not be made.
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“It is going to come over,” Passidomo, who represents the Naples area, said. “We are going to take it up and see what happens, just like any bill. I have not had any conversations with my colleagues about any suggested changes. If I do, and if anybody wants to file an amendment, of course, they are welcome to and encouraged to. With that, I would suggest that they speak to the speaker.”
The Florida House voted 106-13 in favor of the bill Wednesday. Thirteen Democrats voted against the bill, saying it went too far by not allowing parents to decide if their child should be online, and was likely unconstitutional.
If passed, the bill would require social media platforms to use third-party organizations to verify the ages of people signing up for new accounts to make sure they are 16 or older. Social media platforms would also have to terminate already-established accounts.
Supporters of the bill say it’s needed as health officials warn that social media can negatively affect the mental health of children and teens, become addictive, and also expose young people to risk from online predators and cyberbullying.
The move comes as Meta, the parent company for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced a change to the Facebook Messenger and Instagram platforms to limit unsolicited direct messages to teen accounts on Thursday.
Meta said from now on, teens will not be able to receive DMs from anyone they don’t follow or aren’t connected to on Instagram by default. They also can’t be added to group chats by people they aren’t connected to. The new default setting will apply to all teens under the age of 16. Teens who are using supervised accounts will need to get their parents’ permission to change the settings.
It’s the latest age-appropriate feature added to the social media platforms. Earlier this month, Meta announced it would start hiding more types of sensitive content on Instagram and Facebook from teens, including content on self-harm, suicide and eating disorders. Those accounts were automatically placed in the more restrictive setting.
Meta is being sued in federal court by 33 states, including Florida, accusing the company of knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook to get children addicted to the platforms, thus contributing to the mental health crisis.
Information from the News Service of Florida contributed to this report.