Florida lawmakers pass ban on social media for kids under 16 despite constitutional concerns

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A bill to create one of the nation’s most restrictive bans on minors’ use of social media is heading to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has expressed concerns about the legislation to keep children under the age of 16 off popular platforms regardless of parental approval.

The House passed the bill on a 108-7 vote Thursday just hours after the Senate approved it 23-14. The Senate made changes to the original House bill, which Republican Speaker Paul Renner said he hopes will address DeSantis’ questions about privacy.

The bill targets any social media site that tracks user activity, allows children to upload material and interact with others, and uses addictive features designed to cause excessive or compulsive use. Supporters point to rising suicide rates among children, cyberbullying and predators using social media to prey on kids.

“We’re talking about businesses that are using addictive features to engage in mass manipulation of our children to cause them harm,” said the bill’s Senate sponsor, Republican Erin Grall.

Other states have considered similar legislation, but most have not proposed a total ban. In Arkansas, a federal judge blocked enforcement of a law in August that required parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.

Supporters in Florida hope that if the bill becomes law, it would withstand legal challenges because it would ban social media formats based on addictive features such as notification alerts and autoplay videos, rather than the content on their sites.

But opponents say it blatantly violates the First Amendment and that it should left to parents, not the government, to monitor children’s social media use.

“This isn’t 1850. While parents show up