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MIAMI: Florida on Thursday (February 22) will have one of the strictest social media bans for children in the country after the state Senate passed a bill banning social media use for children under 16. We moved towards the enactment of the
The controversial bill aims to protect children’s mental health from the “addictiveness” of these platforms, amid growing concerns about online dangers such as sex offenders, cyberbullying and teenage suicide. .
The bill was approved 23-14 and will now return to the state House. The bill has already been passed and the Speaker of the House supports it, but any changes made in the Senate must be approved by the House.
In that case, the bill would need to be signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has expressed skepticism. Similar efforts by other states have previously been blocked by courts.
“We’re talking about using addictive features to manipulate and harm children on a massive scale,” Republican Erin Goulart, the bill’s sponsor, said Thursday in the Florida Senate. It’s about companies that are.”
But DeSantis has previously said he is sympathetic to concerns about the impact of social media on children and expressed concerns about parental rights.
“Parents have the right to opt in,” he said at a news conference Thursday.
The governor has repeatedly argued that parents should have more control over decisions that affect their children, especially in education.
Under DeSantis, Florida passed laws that cut sex and gender identity education in schools and eliminated diversity programs at state-funded colleges and universities.
Dozens of books have been removed from the state’s school library shelves in recent months after being deemed inappropriate for children by conservative parents and school boards.
Some critics argue that such laws targeting social media use violate the First Amendment guarantee of free speech.
Last year, a federal judge blocked an effort by the state of Arkansas to require parental consent to open social media accounts.
Most social media networks already have an age limit of 13 years or older for opening an account, but do little to ensure compliance with this provision.
If approved, the regulations would require platforms to block children under 16 from creating accounts and close accounts that have already been opened.
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